Sports envoy sees hope for refugees in Olympic dreams
9 months, 4 weeks ago

Sports envoy sees hope for refugees in Olympic dreams

China Daily  

Yang Yang, goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR, meets soccer players near Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County, Kenya, on Wednesday. UNHCR Sports can play an important role in supporting and empowering refugees worldwide, and greater effort is needed to support those living in refugee camps to gain access to sports activities, says Yang Yang, China's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist, and a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' Refugee Agency. After visiting the Kakuma refugee camp, in Kenya's northwest, Yang said in Nairobi on Saturday that there are more than 114 million refugees worldwide, and that the number is rising because of war and conflict. In a three-day visit to the camp, which ended on Friday, Yang met refugees engaged in sports, including women soccer players, a girls' chess club, and organizations working locally on disability and sports. Yang said that despite harsh living conditions, including food rations for many refugees being sparse because of a lack of funding, many people in the refugee camp are optimistic and enthusiastic about sports, such as basketball, soccer and chess.

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History of this topic

Refugee athlete’s dream of a taekwondo medal is cut short at Paris Olympics
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Refugee athlete’s dream of a taekwondo medal is cut short at Paris Olympics

Associated Press  

PARIS — Having overcome so many hurdles, refugee athlete Hadi Tiranvalipour experienced immense disappointment Wednesday as his dream of winning an Olympic medal was cut short when he lost in a taekwondo qualification bout at the Paris Games. “I wanted a good result, it’s not happening.” Before making the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, Tiranvalipour fought for eight years as a …

Refugee athletes want more of them to compete at the Olympics as migration takes global focus
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Refugee athletes want more of them to compete at the Olympics as migration takes global focus

Associated Press  

PARIS — The first time Perina Lokure Nakang began to run for sport, she ran 9 miles along the road near her refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. Now, the 21-year-old South Sudanese runner is competing in the Paris Olympics, among many of the 37 athletes on the Olympic refugee team who are pushing to see more refugees like her able …

Misenga: A DRC refugee hoping to inspire millions at the Olympics
3 years, 4 months ago

Misenga: A DRC refugee hoping to inspire millions at the Olympics

Al Jazeera  

Misenga’s mother was murdered when he was nine. Later this month, Misenga will represent the Refugee Olympic Team for a second time after making his debut in 2016 in Brazil, where he has been living since 2013. Misenga’s life changed in 2013 when he was in Brazil for the world judo championship. Surviving the civil war in DRC and living …

EXPLAINER: How team of refugee athletes made it to Olympics
3 years, 4 months ago

EXPLAINER: How team of refugee athletes made it to Olympics

Associated Press  

TOKYO — The Refugee Olympic Team was created by the International Olympic Committee for the 2016 Olympics to allow athletes to keep competing even if they have been forced to leave their home countries. The team selected by the International Olympic Committee June 8 was drawn from 55 athletes who fled their home countries and got scholarships to train for …

Tokyo 2020: 'I never lose hope', says refugee runner Lohalith as she revs up for Olympics
3 years, 5 months ago

Tokyo 2020: 'I never lose hope', says refugee runner Lohalith as she revs up for Olympics

The Hindu  

Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, a 26-year-old refugee from South Sudan, pounds around a running track outside Nairobi, trying to shave seconds off her time in the build-up to her appearance at the Tokyo Olympics. She will be one among a 29-strong team of refugee athletes competing under the Olympic flag, with other members from as far afield as Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan …

Larger refugee team will inspire the world - IOC
3 years, 6 months ago

Larger refugee team will inspire the world - IOC

The Hindu  

An expanded refugee team of 29 athletes competing across 12 sports at next month's 2020 Tokyo Games will provide hope and inspiration to the world, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday. The team, which will compete under the Olympic flag and include people from countries including Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Iran, is almost three times as big …

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