Four Kenyans makes it to IOC Olympics Refugee Team – KBC

Four refugees from Kenya have been selected to be part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)  Refugee Team a head of  the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo summer games set for July this year.

The four selected by IOC president Thomas Bach from Teglar Lorupe Foundation will be part of the contigent consisting of 29 athletes globally.

They include Anjelina Nadai, Rose Lokonyen, Paulo Amotun and James Nyang.

Thanks to scholarships provided by the IOC through Olympic Solidarity, 56 promising refugee athletes from 13 countries have been training hard in the hope of making it to the global sporting extravaganza.

The Refugee Olympic Team is composed of 25 Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders from 11 countries who have been living and training in 13 host countries representing 12 sports disciplines.

Four additional athletes from the International Judo Federation Refugee Project complete the mixed judo team, raising the number of team members to 29.

At the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in October 2015, confronted with the global refugee crisis that has seen millions of people in the world displaced, IOC President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Team – the first of its kind – to take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

This unique project demonstrates the IOC’s commitment to stand with refugees and support them through sport, and it also shows how Olympic Solidarity, through its Refugee Athlete Support Programme, helps refugee athletes not only to train with the aim of qualifying for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 but also to continue their sporting career and build their future.

Tell Us What You Think