Find out about the Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team squad and from which countries

The International Olympic Committee has unveiled the names of the athletes who will represent its Olympic refugee team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, from July 23 to August 8, 20221.

The final list included 29 male and female athletes from 11 countries, who were selected by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee from among the 55 athletes who benefited from the grant to refugee athletes provided by the International Olympic Committee.

Among the 29 lucky winners, nine are from Syria, five from Iran, four from South Sudan, three from Afghanistan, two from Eritrea, in addition to one refugee each from Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Sudan and Venezuela. They compete in 12 sports.

Six of them have already competed in the Rio 2016 Olympics, including Lukonen, Messinga and Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini.

Some athletes have already stood out: Kimia Alizadeh, who fled Iran to take refuge in Germany in 2020, won a bronze medal in taekwondo in Rio.

As for his compatriot, Jawad Mahjoub, who fled to Canada, he won gold in judo at the 2013 Asian Championships.

Here is the composition of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games:

Abdullah Seddiqi (Afghanistan) – Taekwondo (men under 68kg)

Ahmed Badreddin Wais (Syria) – cycling (men’s road)

Ahmed Alikaj (Syria) – Judo (Mixed Men’s Teams)

Aker Al-Obaidi (Iraq) – wrestling (Greek-Roman men under 67 kg)

Alaa Maso (Syria) – swimming (50m freestyle men)

Angelina Nadayi Lohalith (South Sudan) – Athletics (1500m Women)

Aram Mahmoud (Syria) – badminton (men’s singles)

Cirelli Vagat Chachit 2 (Cameroon) – weightlifting (men under 96kg)

Dina Buriones Langerudi (Iran) – Taekwondo (women under 49 kg)

Dorian Keletilla (Congo) – athletics (100m men)

Eldric Seiya Rodriguez (Venezuela) – boxing (men under 75kg)

Hamoun Deravshepur (Iran) – Karate (men under 67 kg)

Jamal Abdel-Maji Issa Mohamed (Sudan) – athletics (5,000m men)

James Nyang Chiengyik (South Sudan) – athletics (800m men)

Javad Mojoob (Iran) – Judo (mixed teams men)

Kimia Alizadeh Zenouzi (Iran) – Taekwondo (women under 57kg)

Luna Solomon (Eritrea) – Shooting (10m female rifle)

Masoumeh Alizadeh (Afghanistan) – cycling (women’s route)

Mona Duhok (Syria) – Judo (mixed women’s teams)

Negara Shaheen (Afghanistan) – Judo (mixed women’s teams)

Paulo Amoton Lokoro (South Sudan) – Athletics (5,000m men)

Popol Misinga (DR Congo) – Judo (Mixed Men’s Teams)

Rose Nathiki Lokonen (South Sudan) – Athletics (800m women)

Saeed Fadloulah (Iran) – Al-Kanawi (500m men)

Sanda Aldas (Syria) – Judo (mixed women’s teams)

Takluini Gabriesos (Eritrea) – athletics (men’s marathon)

Wael Shuaib (Syria) – Karate (kata for men)

Wissam Salamana (Syria) – boxing (men under 57 kg)

Yousra Mardini (Syria) – swimming (100m butterfly women).

The idea for a refugee team began during the London 2012 Olympics, when Gore Marial, a refugee marathon runner in the United States, competed in the London Olympics as an independent athlete. He had fled Sudan but did not have American nationality and the newly independent South Sudan did not have an Olympic committee.

At the United Nations General Assembly in October 2015, amid the global refugee crisis, the President of the German International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, announced the creation of an Olympic Refugee Team, the first of its kind, to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. .

Ten athletes from Ethiopia and South Sudan, who alone made up half of the delegation, competed alongside others from Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the Olympics in Brazil along with 11,000 other participants.

Six participants competed in athletics, two in swimming and two in judo.

800m specialist Rose Lokonen, forced to flee South Sudan on foot to seek refuge in Kenya at the age of 10, carried the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony.

As for the closing ceremony, it was Popol Misinga, a judoka from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who took refuge in Brazil, who received this honor.

Participating athletes receive a grant, and since the Rio Games, nearly $ 2 million has been invested for these refugee athletes.

The team’s performances in Brazil culminated in the creation of the Olympic Refugee Foundation, which aims to provide access to sport to one million young refugees by 2024.

Source: agencies