BBull champion Cindy Ngamba scored a historic victory on Sunday, making her the first athlete to win an Olympic medal for the refugee Olympic team.
Ngamba defeated Davina Michel, from France, in the under-75kg category and now advances to the boxing semi-finals. Even athletes who lose in the semifinals are guaranteed a bronze medal, guaranteeing their name in the history books. But Ngamba’s ambition goes further. “I hope to be able to exchange the medal in my next fight,” said Ngamba. “It means a lot to me.”
The 25-year-old athlete is originally from Cameroon, where same-sex conduct is criminalized. She was granted refugee status because of her sexuality. “It’s illegal to be gay in my country, so if I was sent back, I could have been arrested,” Ngamba previously said. She currently lives in the United Kingdom, where she moved when she was 11.
There are 117.3 million people forcibly moved around the world, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Refugee Olympic Team is relatively new, making its debut in Rio at the 2016 Olympic Games. The team “sends a great signal about the enrichment that refugees represent for our Olympic community and society in general”, said the president of the Committee International Olympian, Thomas Bach. he said. The Paris 2024 team is the biggest yet with 37 athletes competing in 12 sports, including judo, taekwondo and breaking.
Some Refugee Olympic Team athletes have won medals while representing their home country during previous Olympic Games, but Ngamba is the first to do so for the Refugee Olympic Team.
She will face Atheyna Bylon of Panama in her next match on August 8th.
To refugees around the world, Ngamba said: “Continue to believe in yourself, you can achieve anything you want.”
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
