Refugee athletes are optimistic that they will shine when they make their debut at this year’s Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.
The six athletes competing in three disciplines- track, judo and karate will be making history for the first for both the continent and the refugee team set for October 31 to November 13, will be hosted in Africa for the first time.
The refugee team will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo. The refugee squad, comprising Rashid Rechene, Florence Masimbi, Clement Niyomuhoza, Nyataba Kuek, Lourance Namukiza and Arno Yfunga, said it was fired up after weeks of intensive training in Kaptagat.
The athletes have been training at Complete Sports in Kaptagat, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya, where they have had an opportunity to build team cohesion while preparing mentally and physically for their first Olympic experience.
Double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who serves as a World Athletics Refugee Athletes mentor, said refugees are human beings who deserve support and opportunities to pursue their dreams.
The team’s preparations come against the backdrop of increasing global displacement. The UNHCR estimates that more than 117 million people are currently forcibly displaced worldwide.
In East and Southern Africa alone, there are 6.4 million refugees and asylum seekers, almost half of whom are children.
The International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Refuge Foundation have brought the team together with support from the National Olympic Committees of Kenya and Uganda, World Athletics, Athletics Kenya, UNHCR, and the national judo and taekwondo federations.
Barnaba Korir, the First Deputy President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), said the refugee athletes had been given an important opportunity to showcase their talents on the global stage.
“Kenya has given them a chance to compete in school games and Athletics Kenya events. We want to show the world that they are able to compete at the global stage and see what Kenyans have done,” he said.
Yiech Pur Biel, the team’s Chef de Mission, is optimistic about the team’s prospects, particularly because the Games will be held on African soil.
“Dakar will mean a lot for Africa and refugees. It means a lot to us because Africa hosts the largest number of refugees. They are creating chances for talents in Africa and the globe,” said Biel.
The Olympic refugee team, selected from Kenya and Uganda, will line up against counterparts who will be donning their respective national colours.
Rechene, a 16-year-old 200m sprinter from Congo who sought refuge in Uganda, said: “Dakar 2026 is a great chance for us as refugee youth. The training is good and we like the facility. I have made progress in my speed and time. I now know my potential and I’m sprinting better and faster.”
Masimbi, another 16-year-old sprinter, said the team had drawn immense motivation from their coaches and mentors as they prepare to chase glory at the youth showpiece.
Kuek and Niyomuhoza, aged 17 and 16 respectively, are eyeing history in the 800m in Dakar, while Yfunga and Namukiza will represent the team in judo and taekwondo respectively.
World Athletics Representative Alice Annibali said the global governing body was working with Athletics Kenya to incorporate refugees into local competitions, including cross-country, while strengthening safeguarding measures