Refugee Olympic Team of Paris 2024: 37 champions and a medal!

“A powerful symbol of hope and inclusion for the 120 million displaced people around the world.” These were the words used by the International Olympic Committee, the creator of the delegation in 2016, to celebrate the Refugee Olympic Team that marched with its own emblem during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games 2024.

A delegation of 37 champions

Created ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, when 10 refugee athletes made history competing under the Olympic flag, the Refugee Olympic Team has grown in size, with a delegation of 37 athletes supported by 15 national Olympic committees, each representing the host countries of refugee sportspersons: And champions competed in 12 different sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.

“Frontwoman of the Refugee Olympic Team”, chef de mission Masomah Ali Zada is a cyclist born in Afghanistan and alumna from the University of Lille. 

The 37 athletes of the delegation include 4 supported by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF):

• Eyeru Gebru (Ethiopia – cycling)
• Farida Abaroge (Ethiopia – athletics)
• Dorian Keletela (Democratic Republic of the Congo – athletics)
• Jamal Valizadeh (Iran – wrestling)

A first medal for the refugee team

Present at the Olympic Games for the third time, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team represented this year again more than 120 million people displaced throughout the world. However, “this is a team like no other”. Because, says the IOC, “in this team, young displaced are rebuilding their life”. Thanks to sport and the Olympic spirit, they find “a sense of belonging, develop skills for life and shape their own future”.

This is the feeling that shows refugee boxer Cindy Ngamba, who just earned a first victory for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, becoming the first refugee athlete to earn a medal her achievement of the bronze medal, despite defeat in the semi-final of the women’s boxing -75kg category. Born in Cameroon and first a refugee in France with her family, she discovered sport, football then boxing, in the UK. An illegal immigrant in the UK, she obtained in 2020 the status of refugee, her sexual orientation being oppressed in Cameroon. A three times boxing champion, but unable to compete in the United Kingdom because of her administrative situation, Cindy Ngamba contacted the IOC refugee team. On May 2nd, she discovered she was selected for the Paris Olympic Games! French newspaper Le Monde dedicated made a beautiful presentation of her: “When I’m on the ring, even if there are only a few seconds left, I don’t give up. Whatever happens now, I know that the worst is behind me...”

Financial and logistical support for refugee athletes

As the International Olympic Committee explains, IOC support for refugees “is not limited to the two weeks of Olympic Games”. Throughout the year, athletes benefit from financial and logistical support to help them in their qualification in the Olympic Games, but also for a better integration in their host country. 74 athletes were helped through the support programme to refugee athletes during the last Olympic cycle, and 37 were selected for the Paris 2024 team. 

Long term, worldwide commitment

To develop the sport insertion of refugees, the IOC explains that 6 million dollars were invested in scholarships for refugee athletes since Rio 2016. To be eligible, athletes must of course be “elite competitors in their respective sports and be refugees in their host country”, recognised by the UNCHR, the UN Refugee Agency. A balanced representation in terms of sport, gender and region is also taken into account.

But the Olympic Committee also explains that support to refugees “extends well beyond elite athletes”. Today, support is also directed towards refugee communities all over the world, with support programmes managed and implemented by the Fondation olympique pour les réfugiés (ORF, Olympic Foundation for Refugees, created in collaboration with the CHR. These various programmes confirm a common commitment “in favour of protection, development and autonomy of children and young people in situation of vulnerability through sport”. So, 132,600 young people were able to join the ORF programme in 11 countries and over the five continents.