A team without a country : Refugee Olympic Team I Blog By Team Bookosmia
History was made at the Paris 2024 Olympics as boxer Cindy Ngamba won the first ever bronze medal for the Refugee Olympic Team. What is the Refugee Olympic Team? Read all about it.
A team without a country : Refugee Olympic Team
It was a moment the founder of modern Olympics Baron De Coubertin would have wholeheartedly approved of. Cindy Ngamba won a bronze medal in boxing in the 75 Kg category making it the first ever Olympics medal for the Refugee Olympic Team.
One of the joys of the Olympics is cheering on athletes from your country. Watching them win, seeing the country flag on the podium and hearing the national anthem are undoubtedly priceless moments. But what if an athlete did not have a country anymore? What if their home was blown apart in the middle of a war? How would they participate in the Olympics? Who would cheer them on? The IOC has a brilliant initiative called ‘The Refugee Olympic Team’.
What is the Refugee Olympic Team?
Confronted with a massive refugee crisis in which many talented athletes could not compete for their countries, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s President Thomas Bach announced in 2015 the creation of the ‘Refugee Olympic Team’ during the Olympics at Rio 2016
What flag and symbol do they compete under?
The Olympic flag and the Olympic hymn are used as team symbols. The participating athletes marched in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the team entering the stadium as the penultimate delegation, just before the host country. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, the team entered the stadium second only to Greece.
Who is considered a refugee athlete?
A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country due to war, natural disasters or threat to their lives. Athletes who are elite competitors in their respective sport and refugees in their host country as recognised by UNCHR, the UN Refugee Agency, are eligible to be part of the team.
How many athletes have participated in this team so far?
As per official Olympics figures, 10 athletes who originally hail from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the 2020 Olympics, 29 athletes across 12 countries participated in the refugee team.
How many athletes were part of the Refugee Olympic team at the Paris Olympics?
36 athletes from 11 different countries, hosted by 15 National Olympic Committees, competed at the Paris Olympics across 12 sports. The team is led by Masomah Ali Zada, who has been a member of the Refugee Olympic Team since 2020.
To do : Watch the Olympics YouTube channel and watch the Refugee Olympic Team’s play. Send us your thoughts!
Interested in the Olympics? Here is a free book for your to download and read : https://bookosmia.com/free-ebook-olympics-for-kids-watch-play-learn/
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