IOC refugee team members arrive in Rio

IOC refugee team members arrive in Rio
By Euronews
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

They were previously running for their lives, now they are days away from running for an Olympic medal.

ADVERTISEMENT

They were previously running for their lives, now they are days away from running for an Olympic medal.

Five of the IOC’s 10-member refugee team arrived in Rio on Friday.

The five members are all from South Sudan and will all compete in middle to long distance running events.

They flew into Rio from Kenya where are residents of the Kakuma refugee camp.

It is the first time a refugee team will compete at the Summer Olympics.

They will take on the worlds best competing under the Olympic flag with five others – two swimmers from Syria, two judokas from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as an Ethiopian marathon runner.

Syrian refugee Mardini swims for joy after swimming for her life https://t.co/LCZO2ATb8d#RefugeeOlympicTeampic.twitter.com/7HgrPLZgYt

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) July 28, 2016

42 sports, over 300 events! The excitement will be everywhere. Get your tickets at https://t.co/3GSHuNaMrYhttps://t.co/wAx6Q6SFOy

— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) July 11, 2016

Share this articleComments

You might also like

Real Madrid files complaint with prosecutor over Vinícius 'hate crime' abuse by Valencia fans

Croatia knock Brazil out of World Cup on penalties in another major shock

Brazil beats South Korea and will take on Croatia in quarter-finals