LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The refugee staff for the Tokyo Olympics has 29 athletes competing in 12 sports activities.
The staff chosen by the Worldwide Olympic Committee on Tuesday was drawn from 55 athletes who fled their dwelling nations and acquired scholarships to coach for the video games in a brand new dwelling nation.
The 29 — an increase from 10 within the inaugural refugee staff on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics — are initially from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Congo, Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela.
They are going to compete in swimming, athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, biking, judo, karate, capturing, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.
“You might be an integral a part of our Olympic neighborhood, and we welcome you with open arms.” IOC president Thomas Bach advised the athletes when saying their choice, including they might “ship a robust message of solidarity, resilience and hope to the world.”
The staff shall be managed in Tokyo by officers from the IOC and the United Nations’ Geneva-based refugee company, the UNHCR.
“Surviving conflict, persecution and the nervousness of exile already makes them extraordinary individuals,” UNHCR Excessive Commissioner Filippo Grandi stated in an announcement, “however the truth that they now additionally excel as athletes on the world stage fills me with immense delight.”
The refugee athletes will compete towards 206 nationwide groups with identifier EOR, for the French acronym of the staff identify. The Tokyo Olympics are from July 23-Aug. 8.
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