SIDNEY– Afghan sprinter Kimia Yousofi is preparing to compete in her third Olympics after being selected for the Paris Games at her training base in Australia.
Yousofi, Afghanistan’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, has lived in Australia since 2022.
The Australian Olympic Committee congratulated Yousofi on Tuesday on her selection for the women’s 100 meter sprint.
“It is an honor to once again represent the girls of my homeland,” she said in a statement released by the Australian committee. “Girls and women who have been deprived of basic rights, including education, which is the most important.
“I represent the stolen dreams and aspirations of these women. Those who do not have the authority to make decisions as free human beings – they are not even allowed to enter a park.”
She said she is “deeply grateful to all those who have stood by my side on this journey and made this possible.”
Yousofi was among the athletes and families who were resettled to Australia, in her case via Iran, after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan and imposed harsh restrictions on women and girls.
Dozens of other Afghan athletes, including women’s cricket members and football teams moved to Australia.
AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said Yousofi’s story is “an inspiration to women and girls in Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the world, who are denied basic rights, including the right to play sport freely”.
Afghanistan Olympic Committee President Yonus Popalzay said there would be three women on the Paris team.
“We are delighted to have three female athletes for the first time at the Olympic Games,” Popalzay said in a statement. “We are very grateful to AOC for the support given to Kimia Yousofi.”
The Afghan National Olympic Committee operates outside of Afghanistan to support and encourage athletes.
John Quinn, Yousofi’s Australia-based coach, will travel to the Olympics as head coach of the Afghanistan athletics team. He said Yousofi was an inspiration to his training partners.
“On the track, she has improved enormously technically since arriving here and has a great team around her,” Quinn said. “But when you consider everything else she’s had to do — training, a new language, bringing her family here, all that stuff, she’s been amazing.
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