Against all odds, Team Refugees will be competing this summer at the Rio Olympics. Some inspirational stories from the team via the Guardian:
James Nyang Chiengjiek
Country of origin South SudanHost NOC Kenya
Fleeing South Sudan to avoid being captured by rebels intent on recruiting child soldiers, Chiengjiek was relocated to neighbouring Kenya and attended school in a highland town renowned for its runners. “That’s when I realised I could make it as a runner – and if God gives you a talent, you have to use it,” he says. “We all of us got a lot of injuries because of the wrong shoes we had. Then we were sharing. If maybe you have two pairs of shoes, then you help the one that has none.”
Yusra Mardini
Country of origin SyriaHost NOC Germany
Mardini swam for more than three hours in the sea to get to Greece after the small boat she was on started to capsize. In doing so she and her sister also helped more than a dozen non-swimmers on the boat survive the journey and, now based in Germany, she will compete in the 100m freestyle. “I want everyone to think refugees are normal people who had their homelands and lost them not because they wanted to run away and be refugees,” the 18-year-old says. “But because they have dreams in their lives and they had to go. A lot of people in Syria forgot their dreams and I hope everyone will follow their dreams to achieve something good in the future.”
Swimming 100m freestyle