(Photo: Olympic Refuge Foundation)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced, this Thursday (02), the names of the athletes who will form the Paris 2024 Refugee Olympic Team. There will be 36 athletes who will represent the displaced world population of more than 100 million people at the Olympic Games.
The athletes come from 11 different countries of origin and are hosted by 15 different Olympic committees. They will compete in 13 disciplines: athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing slalom, speed canoeing, road cycling, judo, weightlifting, swimming, taekwondo, shooting and wrestling.
“We welcome them with open arms. You are an enrichment for our Olympic Community and our societies. By participating in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential for resilience and excellence. This will send a message of hope to more than 100 million displaced people around the world,” said IOC President Thomas Bach during the announcement.
More about EOR
The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is competing at the Olympic Games for the third time, following previous appearances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo-2020. This year, your leader of mission will be Masomah Ali Zada, who competed as a member of the IOC Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team.
The team is made up of 23 men and 13 women, whose countries of origin are on three continents: Africa, the Americas and Asia. It includes Olympic debutants, members of the Tokyo 2020 Refugee Olympic Team and Olympic athletes who competed for their home countries before becoming refugees.
In Paris, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will compete under the team acronym “EOR”, from the French olympique des réfugiés team. For the first time, it will have its own team emblem – featuring a heart in its center – to unify the team, rather than competing under the Olympic flag.
Among the refugee athletes in Paris-2024 is an opponent of Isaquias Queiroz. This is Fernando Jorge, from speed canoeing, who won the gold medal in the C2 1,000m of Tokyo-2020 alongside Serguey Torres, representing Cuba.
IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris-2024:
Name (gender, country of origin, host NOC, and sport)
Farida Abaroge (women, Ethiopia, France, athletics)
Omid Ahmadisafa (male, Iran, Germany, boxing)
Yahya Al Ghotany (male, Syria, Jordan, taekwondo)
Mohammad Amin Alsalami (men, Syria, Germany, athletics)
Amir Ansari (male, Afghanistan, Sweden, road cycling)
Sibghatullah Arab (male, Afghanistan, Germany, judo)
Matin Balsini (male, Islamic Republic of Iran, Great Britain, swimming)
Mahboubeh Barbari Zharfi (women, Iran, Germany, judo)
Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves (male, Venezuela, Mexico, shooting sports)
Muna Dahouk (women, Syria, Netherlands, judo)
Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed (men, Sudan, Israel, athletics)
Saeid Fazloula (male, Republic Iran, Germany, speed canoeing)
Tachlowini Gabriyesos (men, Eritrea, Israel, athletics)
Eyeru Gebru (women, Ethiopia, France, road cycling)
Yekta Jamali Galeh (women, Iran, Germany, weightlifting)
Fernando Jorge (male, Cuba, USA, speed canoeing)
Dorian Keletela (men, Congo, France, athletics)
Adnan Khankan (male, Syria, Germany, judo)
Perina Lokure (women, South Sudan, Kenya, athletics)
Iman Mahdavi (male, Iran, Italy, wrestling)
Farzad Mansouri (male, Afghanistan, Great Britain, taekwondo)
Alaa Maso (male, Syria, Germany, swimming)
Kasra Mehdipournejad (male, Iran, Germany, taekwondo)
Cindy Ngamba (women, Cameroon, Great Britain, boxing)
Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi (women, Iran, Netherlands, taekwondo)
Mohammad Rashnonezhad (male, Iran, Netherlands, judo)
Amir Rezanejad (men, Iran, Germany, canoe slalom)
Ramiro Mora Romero (male, Cuba, Great Britain, weightlifting)
Nigara Shaheen (women, Afghanistan, Canada, judo)
Luna Solomon (women, Eritrea, Switzerland, shooting)
Saman Soltani (female, Iran, Austria, speed canoeing)
Musa Suliman (men, Sudan, Switzerland, athletics)
Manizha Talash (female, Afghanistan, Spain, breaking)
Hadi Tiranvalipour (male, Iran, Italy, taekwondo)
Jamal Valizadeh (men, Iran, France, Greco-Roman wrestling)
Dorsa Yavarivafa (women, Iran, Great Britain, badminton)
*With information from olympics.com
22 years old from São Paulo. Journalist graduated from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). I’ve been at Olimpíada Todo Dia since 2022. I covered the World University Games in Chengdu and the Pan American Games in Santiago-2023.
