What Is the Refugee Olympic Team? How It Came Together

The Refugee Olympic Team Was Created as a "Symbol of Hope"

"It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society."

Published July 26 2024, 3:24 p.m. ET

As all the excitement continues around the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, viewers are curious to learn more about the different teams — including, of course, the Refugee Olympic Team.

Here's what to know about the team, how the initiative came together, and the impressive athletes you can root for as they go for the gold across 12 different sports.

What is the Refugee Olympic Team?

Back in 2015, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) created an initiative known as the Refugee Olympic Team. The goal was to allow refugees who were forced to flee their countries to still be able to participate in the Olympic games.

"This will be a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis," said IOC President Thomas Bach when he announced the team back in 2016. "It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society."

In the Rio games in 2016, 10 athletes competed for the Refugee Olympic Team. And in the 2020 Tokyo games, the number of athletes on the team jumped up to 29.

For the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, there are a whopping 36 athletes from 11 countries making up the Refugee Olympic Team.

They'll be competing across 12 sports: swimming, athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoe, cycling, judo, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

This year's Refugee Olympic Team includes athletes from Iran, the Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Syria, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Cuba, and Venezuela.

The Refugee Olympic Team consists of the following athletes:

• Adnan Khankan — judo
• Alaa Maso — swimming
• Amir Ansari — cycling
• Amir Rezanejad Hassanjani — canoe slalom
• Arab Sibghatullah — judo
• Cindy Ngamba —boxing
• Dina Pouryones Langeroudi — taekwondo
• Dorian Keletela — athletics
• Dorsa Yavarivafa — badminton
• Eyeru Gebru — cycling
• Farida Abaroge — athletics
• Farzad Mansouri — taekwondo
• Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez — canoe sprint
• Francisco Edilio Centeno Nieves —shooting
• Hadi Tiranvalipour — taekwondo
• Iman Mahdavi — wrestling
• Jamal Abdelmaji — athletics
• Jamal Valizadeh — Greco-Roman wrestling
• Kasra Mehdipournejad — taekwondo
• Luna Solomon — shooting
• Mahboubeh Barbari Yharfi — judo
• Manizha Talash — breaking
• Matin Balsini — swimming
• Mohammad Amin Alsalami — athletics
• Mohammad Rashnonezhad — judo
• Muna Dahouk — judo
• Musa Suliman — athletics
• Nigara Shaheen — judo
• Omid Ahmadisafa — boxing
• Perina Lokure Nakang — athletics
• Ramiro Mora — weightlifting
• Saeid Fazloula — canoe sprint
• Saman Soltani — canoe sprint
• Tachlowini Gabriyesos — athletics
• Yahya Al Ghotany — taekwondo
• Yekta Jamali Galeh — weightlifting

What does the IOC mean?

The IOC stands for the International Olympic Committee. It's a non-governmental sports organization that is responsible for putting together the Olympic games that we all know and love.

As the IOC says on its website: "A truly global organization, it acts as a catalyst for collaboration between all Olympic stakeholders, including the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, the International Federations, Organising Committees for the Olympic Games, the Worldwide Olympic Partners and Media Rights-Holders. It also collaborates with public and private authorities including the United Nations and other international organisations."

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