IOC Announces Tokyo Olympic Refugee Team, There Are Veterans Of 2016
JAKARTA - A total of 29 athletes from 12 sports will form the Olympic Refugee Team in Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday, June 8.
They were selected from 55 promising refugee athletes from 13 countries and received IOC scholarships. Later, they will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, judo, karate, taekwondo, shooting, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The squad features athletes from 13 National Olympic Committees, including six who competed in the first Olympic Refugee Team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
They are swimmer Yusra Mardini, judoka Popole Misenga and athletic athletes Anjelina Nadai Lohallith, James Nyang Chiengjiek, Paulo Amotun Lokoro and Rose Nathike Lokonyen.
Alaa Maso will also compete in swimming, while Misenga is one of six judoka selected for the team by the IOC, joining Sanda Aldass, Ahmad Alikaj, Muna Dahouk, Javad Mahjoub, and Nigara Shaheen.
Dorian Keletela, Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed, and Tachlowini Gabriyesos have been selected as other athletic athletes. Badminton athletes Aram Mahmoud, boxers Wessam Salamana and Eldric Sella Rodriguez, canoe Saeid Fazloula and cyclists Masomah Ali Zada and Ahmad Badreddin Wais were also selected for the team.
They have been selected alongside karateists Wael Shueb and Hamoon Derafshipour, shooter Luna Solomon, taekwondo athlete Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi, Kimia Alizadeh and Abdullah Sediqi, weightlifter Cyrille Fagat Tchatchet and Greco-Roman wrestler Aker Al Obaidi.
Alizadeh won a bronze medal at Rio 2016 as an 18-year-old, representing Iran, but fled the country last year. The size of the team is almost three times the size of the 10-person refugee team in Rio 2016.
"I speak on behalf of the entire Olympic Movement when I say we can't wait to meet you in person and see you compete in Tokyo," IOC President Thomas Bach told the entire team.
"When you, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and athletes from National Olympic Committees from around the world, finally gather in Tokyo on July 23, it will send a strong message of solidarity, resilience, and hope to the world. You are an integral part of our Olympic community. , and we welcome you with open arms," said Bach.
Squad members will gather for the first time as a team at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar on July 12 and 13, before they fly to Tokyo the following day.
During their stay in Japan, Waseda University will host teams for a pre-Game training camp before the athletes move to the athletes' village.
During the opening ceremony, Team EOR will line up with the Olympic flag in second place, immediately after Greece. Meanwhile, for all official representatives of the team, including a possible medal ceremony, the Olympic flag will be flown and the Olympic anthem will be played.
Chef de Mission The team will be carried by former world marathon record holder Tegla Loroupe from Kenya, who also claimed the position at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He will again be assisted by Deputy Chef de Mission Stephen Pattison of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.
“The participation of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will be a sports festival and celebration of peace, will draw the world's attention to the refugee issue and advance further efforts to achieve world peace through the elimination of wars and conflicts that cause people to flee their homelands. said Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto.
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“I hope that all athletes selected for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team can perform at their best at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We will also continue to work closely with the IOC and other relevant parties, as we make every effort to ensure a safe and secure stay in Japan for IOC Refugee Olympic Team," said Hashimoto, who is also a legend of the Japanese Olympics.
To note, the team announcement was broadcasted live but some complained of not being able to view the video due to a global internet outage affecting the websites of some of the world's biggest companies.