Now taking refuge in sport, these athletes aim to fly high
IOC Refugee Olympic Team members thank Qatar and facilities in Doha on way to success at Tokyo Olympics
THEY embody the message of solidarity and hope to the world and they have been gearing up for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Their presence at the Aspire Zone here in Doha also brought to light their engaging spirit and with all the smiles well in place.
The member athletes of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) in action during training expressed themselves large showing how sport and hope go together. While they all have a telling story of human endurance and fighting drive, their exploits in the field of sport are no less. From Afghanistan’s cyclist Masomah Ali Zada – termed as ‘The Little Queen of Kabul’ – to the 100m sprinter from Portugal, Dorian Keletela, who trains at Sporting Clube de Portugal (the same club that produced Cristiano Ronaldo), to swimmer from Syria Yusra Mardini to the judokas to wrestlers and weightlifters, all the twenty-nine athletes competing across 12 sports and from 13 host National Olympic Committees (NOCs) now part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Tokyo have been a hero in themselves.
Now keen to further their skills at the biggest stage of Olympics, said they were delighted with their training stop-over in Qatar.
“I am very excited to be going to Tokyo. And, I am going to swim on the first day, 100m butterfly. Really excited to be honest. We are thankful to Qatar for hosting this training camp at a world-class venue,” said 23-year-old Yusra Mardini, who now lives in Germany and in 2017 was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
Prior to the war in Syria, Yusra was a competitive swimmer who represented her country in international competitions. As the war intensified, Yusra and her sister left Damascus in early August 2015 and reached Berlin in September 2015.
Looking ahead to her second Olympics, the fluent in English Syrian further said she’s grown in stature thanks to the Refugee Olympic Team and the exposure. “Mentally the difference has been hat now now I use my voice to bring awareness about refugees and what’s happening in the world. What’s changing and what’s changed since Rio 2016 is I know now what matters and what doesn’t. I love the sport and I use it to bring me further in life. I also consider my role as a job and responsibility to represent all the refugees in the world and I love my job.”
About training during these pandemic times, she said, “It’s complicated now because of Covid but in general we have supporters who always send us messages on social media and I find it very sweet as they are always positive and supporting the team.”
About her swimming aim, she said, “My target is Just to swim better than my previous time and give off my best. I trained in Hamburg as I moved there two years ago and I trained at the Olympic Center. My training has been fantastic and I am happy about the process I made the past few years. I feel ready.”
Dorian Keletela, who speaks only Portuguese and French, spoke via a translator Anne Sphie Thilo, a Swiss and an EOR Delegate. Keletela said, “Yes a lot of people ask me about Ronaldo and his club but for me it is more about athletics. I am really looking forward to do something especial in Tokyo. I am going to give my best.”
On his visit and training in Qatar, he said, “We are very happy to come to Doha and happy to experience great facilities here at Aspire.”
These athletes were selected from among the refugee athletes currently supported by the IOC through the Olympic Scholarships for Refugee Athletes programme and they are sending across a powerful message of solidarity and hope to the world.
The 29-Tokyo bound were picked from 56 Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders coming from 21 host countries – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Portugal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – and represent 12 sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, judo, karate, taekwondo, sport of shooting, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling.