Yusra Mardini, swimmer and UNHCR ambassador, has already participated in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
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UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, welcomes the introduction of the refugee team for the Tokyo Olympics by the International Olympic Committee. After years of training, 29 refugees will travel to Japan to take part in the games next month. You will compete for medals in twelve sports, sending a powerful signal of hope and solidarity and drawing attention to the fate of 80 million displaced people around the world.
“I am thrilled and congratulate each of the athletes who have been appointed to the refugee team for Tokyo 2020,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, who is also vice chairman of the Olympic Refugee Foundation. “You are a unique group of people who inspire the world. UNHCR is very proud to support them in the Tokyo Olympics. Surviving war, persecution and flight makes them extraordinary people. But that they are now also shining as athletes on the world stage fills me with great pride. “
“It shows what is possible when refugees are given the chance to fully exploit their potential,” said Grandi. “These athletes embody the hopes and aspirations of the more than 80 million people around the world who have been uprooted by war and persecution. They remind us that everyone deserves the chance to be successful in life. “
Two of the 29 athletes have found protection in Switzerland. The two athletes who live and train in Switzerland are:
- Luna Solomono, Shooting sport, born in 1994 in Eritrea
- Ahmad Badreddin Wais, cycling, born 1991 in Syria
After Rio 2016, it is the second time that a refugee team has participated in the Olympic Games. As part of its more than 25-year partnership with the IOC, UNHCR works with the committee and the Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF). Together, these partners want to use the power of sport to create a world in which everyone who is forced to flee can create a better future. Together with the IOC, the ORF, the International Paralympic Committee and other partners, UNHCR demands that all refugees, including those with disabilities, have equal access to sport.
Hints:
For all media enquiries about today’s announcement by the IOC please contact[email protected]
For UNHCR media queries, please contact
In Japan: Deanna Bitetti – [email protected]
In London: Sarah Epstein – [email protected]
In Geneva: Aikaterini Kitidi – [email protected]
In New York: Alicia Hosking – [email protected]
In Bern: Charlotte Walser – [email protected]
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