Two Cubans have been selected to be part of the refugee team for the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place in July and August.
These are canoeist Fernando Dayán Jorge and weightlifter Ramiro Mora Romero, whose selection was announced this Thursday, May 2, by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Through its social networks, the IOC shared a publication in which the faces of 36 athletes who had been chosen appeared, among which the Antilleans appeared.
The IOC @RefugeesOlympic Team competing at #Paris2024 was announced today.
Here’s a snapshot of who the 36 are.
In 2015, IOC President Thomas Bach had announced the creation of a first Refugee Olympic Team, in response to the global refugee crisis.#OlympicAgenda in action! pic.twitter.com/52224RO5RN
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) May 2, 2024
The shared note recalled that the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, announced in 2015 the creation of the first Olympic Refugee Team, this in response “to the global refugee crisis.”
Fernando Dayán Jorge Enríquez is a canoeist who began competing in international events since 2015, and finished in sixth place during his first Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
In Tokyo 2020, the Cuban won a gold medal in the 1,000 meters C-2 in the men’s category, this together with his compatriot Serguei Torres.
The athlete, originally from Cienfuegos, left a training base in Mexico in March 2022, crossing the United States border illegally. Her case became known because she rescued another migrant from drowning in the Rio Grande..
In previous interviews, the athlete had made it clear that He wanted to represent the United States in gratitude for giving him shelter..
For his part, Ramiro Mora is a weightlifter originally from Santiago de Cuba, who has set multiple records in the 89 and 96 kilogram (Kg) weight categories.
Mora traveled to London from Havana as a circus trapeze artist in 2019, staying in the country and becoming UK national weightlifting champion in 2023.
On social networks, both Cubans were grateful for the opportunity to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games despite not being representing the Greater Antilles.
In Mora’s case, the news was celebrated by British Weight Lifting, the UK’s national governing body for weightlifting sports.
The Olympic Refugee Foundation indicated that the team will have Masomah Ali Zada as Head of Mission.
“The participation of the Refugee Olympic Team in the Olympic Games is not only a testament to their resilience and excellence, but also sends a powerful message of hope, belonging and inclusion,” the foundation said.
#Olympic #refugee #team #Paris #Cubans
