LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The Paris Olympics Refugee Team will feature 36 athletes from 11 countries in 12 sports.
They were chosen from more than 70 scholarships, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said in Thursday’s team announcement.
Instead of competing under the Olympic flag, refugees have their own emblem with a heart in the center, surrounded by arrows that symbolize how lost refugees can find their way back. The team will be known by the acronym EOR from the French name Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés.
“Having our own emblem creates a sense of belonging and also allows us to represent the population of more than 100 million people who share this same experience,” said Masomah Ali Zada, from Afghanistan, head of mission for the team that competed in cycling feminine. at the Tokyo Games. “I can’t wait to wear it with pride.”
A total of 23 men and 13 women will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling at the Games that begin on July 24.
Boxer Cindy Ngamba and Ethiopian runner Farida Abaroge are among the women. Kasra Mehdipournejad, an Iranian taekwondo athlete who lives in Germany, and shooter Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves, from Venezuela, are among the men.
“My Olympic dream is coming true,” said Mehdipournejad.
On Tuesday, a third runner on the team was suspended for a positive drug test.
The refugee team was created by the IOC for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to allow athletes to continue competing even if they were forced to leave their home countries.
There were 10 athletes in Rio, with Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini being the first to compete. Three years ago in Tokyo, the number was 29 in 12 sports.
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