Heading into the Rio Olympics, there have been many a bad news story about the state of the Games. However there are also a lot of feel-good stories that Rio 2016 will be remembered for.
One of those stories that will forever be associated with the summer Olympics in Brazil is that for the first time ever, the world will watch athletes compete on an official refugee team. They will march into the opening ceremonies carrying the Olympic flag instead of that of their home countries. In total, there will be 10 of athletes from Syria, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
“This idea it was very good for us. Because being a refugee is only a name. It will actually give us hope because when you go and carry the flag of refugees, everywhere you go, you are talking about the refugees. You tell the world that we are refugees we are human beings like other people.” – 800m runner Yiech Pur Biel
After naming the team, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach reminded the world that this is to be a symbol of hope for the world’s refugees who are faced with living war-torn and politically unstable countries. In addition, heading into one of the most celebrated international competitions, he wants to draw attention to the magnitude of the crisis that these athletes have gone through. As well, viewers across the globe will watch the Games unfold and see the strength of these athletes who have come out of tragedy to focus on sport.
So who are the runners who will race without a nation? Out of the team of 10, athletics is the most prevalent sport: six of the athletes are competing in distances from the 400m to the marathon.
Yiech Pur Biel, 800m
Home country: South Sudan
“From being a refugee it gives me hope in my legacy. It will be great for my life and it will be a story I leave for my children and grandchildren.”
Biel is 21 years old. He left South Sudan in 2005 when he was nine. His dad was a soldier and his mother was the one who took care of him and his siblings. Like many of the others on the Olympic refugee team, he trains with the Tegla Loroupe Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya, a prime location for those who compete in high level running (along with many top Canadian elites who head to the country to run).
Tegla Loroupe is a runner famous for winning marathon titles at Boston, London, New York City and Berlin and having run in the Olympics three times. She has taken her career in a different direction by running the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation–a development program to work with athletes who have experienced a life of poverty and hardship. This is where many of the Olympic refugees now get their coaching.
Biel has been there since last year. He is excited to be heading to Rio and says that this is a story he will leave behind for his children and grandchildren. While he’s in Brazil, he’s looking forward to meeting the other athletes and observing the way of life for people in Brazil as well as that of those from around the world who have also come to participate in the Games.
James Nyang Chiengjiek, 400m
Home country: South Sudan
“The soldiers they are looking for people who can join them. Even if you are ten years old they can recruit you to join them. So it was better if I looked for somewhere else.”
Chiengjiek left South Sudan to avoid becoming a child soldier in the country’s civil war. Kids can be recruited incredibly young so it was better for Chiengjiek to leave his country. His dad died in the conflict in 1999. In 2002, the runner, now 28, arrived in Kenya. He went to the Kakuma refugee camp which is where he started running. He was given official refugee status in 2014.
Yonas Kinde, marathon
Home country: Ethiopia
“In the world for refugees, this is good news. I feel very happy and I would like to say thank you very much to international communities for this chance.”
Kinde will be competing in the men’s marathon which he qualified for at the Frankfurt Marathon last year. He is from Ethiopia but currently lives and trains in Luxembourg. Last year, he ran the Frankfurt Marathon in a 2:17:31 to hit the Olympic qualifying standard. Being a refugee, he has overcome not only the struggles from back home, but also the obstacles that occur when settling into a new region. “It can be very difficult to be an athlete. You can be crazy sometimes in the refugee camp,” he said in an Olympic video. The language barrier is another thing he has overcome, but he is happy to be supported by his coach, Yves Göldi. “Even though the situation is very difficult, we can have a good result also,” says Kinde. In Rio, he wants to be competitive as he has seen a lot of progress in his training.
Anjelina Nada Lohalith, 1,500m
Home country: South Sudan
“I’m happy because it will be the first time for refugees to be in the Olympics. Since I will be one of them, I will be very happy.”
Lohalith is thrilled that for the first time, refugees can compete in the Olympics. She says she’s very happy for being able to compete and be among the other Olympians. Getting to travel to Brazil is a highlight for her. At 21, she has much to look forward to in her running career. She was given her refugee status in 2014 when she arrived in Kenya with her aunt. Heading to Rio, she is excited to interact with new people and see a part of the world that she has never seen before.
Rose Nathike Lokonyen, 800m
Home country: South Sudan
“The fighting started in out village. That is when we got the vehicle and the vehicle brought us to Kenya.”
Lokonyen is 23 years old and has had refugee status since 2002–the same year she left South Sudan. The runner left with her family and went to the Kakuma camp but her parents returned to South Sudan in 2008. She took up running in school and currently trains with Loroupe. She joined the foundation after running a 10K race with them last year.
Paulo Amotun Lokoro, 1,500m
Home country: South Sudan
“I want to win a medal or the gold. That’s my dream.”
Lokoro will run the 1,500m in Rio during this year’s Games. He has big dreams that he wants to achieve in his running career: breaking a record or winning a medal at international competition. Before he got his refugee status in 2006, he was a cattle farmer. In 2006, he left for the camp in Kenya. His mother arrived there two years before he did. Right now he is training with the Tegla Loroupe Foundation and says that the training he receives is really good and that he likes working with his coaches.
