Paris 2024 Olympics: Refugee athletes Cindy Ngamba and Yahya Al Ghotany on being Opening Ceremony flagbearers
It is an honour bestowed on few to be an Olympian and an Olympic flagbearer, but a dream turned reality for Cindy Ngamba and Yahya Al Ghotany.
The pair were announced as the IOC Refugee Olympic Team flagbearers for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony on Friday (26 July), where they will proudly represent the 37-strong team.
Ngamba is a Cameroonian-born boxer based in the UK for the last 15 years, while Al Ghotany is a taekwondo athlete from Syria training in Jordan. They will be the second team - after Greece - to go down the river Seine in a ceremony like no other, watched on by tens of thousands on the riverbanks and millions around the world.
It will be a moment to savour for them, the team and the entire Olympic family.
Ngamba and Al Ghotany spoke exclusively to Olympics.com about what it means to be the flagbearers for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) at the Opening Ceremony.
Cindy Ngamba: “I hope that every wave of the flag touches every refugee around the world”
Cindy Ngamba uses the perfectly analogy of the Olympic flag, which she will be bearing at the Opening Ceremony, to sum up what the ROT represents.
“If you look at our flag, the ring colours show how we are connected together,” she explains. “We are a whole team, but every ring colour is different. We're all from different backgrounds, different stories, different languages, different sports, but it unites us all together.”
Ngamba is one of the favourites to win a medal for the team, where she could become the first refugee athlete to win an Olympic medal.
Though she cannot describe what it will be like in the moment, she knows of the symbolism that will be displayed as she waves the Olympic flag on the Seine.
“I hope that every wave of the flag touches every refugee around the world, showing that we’re standing tall and holding our head high and happy.” Ngamba says. “We’re proud to call ourselves refugees and be part of a team because we are unique. If you didn’t know about us, now you do.
“We are more than just a refugee team. We are a team, we are a country there to represent any other athlete out there. We are proud of it, shouting, smiling and enjoying the moment.”
Training with Team GB as well as the ROT, the boxer is competing in the women’s middleweight 75kg event at the Stade Roland Garros, the same venue being used for the tennis competition.
It will be a landmark moment in Ngamba’s career - not only because she is making her Olympic debut. Her mother will watch her fight for the first time, on the biggest stage possible in one of the world’s great sporting cities.
“My mum is the one that can describe what it will be like,” Ngamba admits, “but the one thing I can say is that it will push me and give me more energy. It will give me more drive to push even harder each round and each fight.”
She continues, “I just want to tell every refugee out there, whether they are an athlete or not, to never give up. You are going to have up and down days, just like any human does, but there's going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Yahya Al Ghotany: Olympic flagbearer at 19 years-old
Yahya Al Ghotany is reserved, but clearly excited about the prospect of being Olympic flagbearer. He meets us on the banks of the Seine at the Olympic Village, a serene location where, a few kilometres downstream, he will soon write history.
“It is a very nice feeling, I had no idea that I was going to be the flagbearer,” he admits, “to be the flagbearer for all the refugees around the world, it's just an amazing feeling. Now I have more motivation to do even better, because when I'll be competing, people will say ‘he was a flagbearer’.”
He knows that he is unique: the taekwondo athlete reached black belt 2nd dan level just five years after he took up the sport, a feat that can take seven years to achieve.
Al Ghotany is just 19 years-old, one of the youngest members of the Paris 2024 ROT and one of the youngest flagbearers for this Opening Ceremony. So, how does he feel about that?
“I know,” he says, “but I am Yahya! It's a bit abnormal, but of course I'm happy. I really think of the memories of everything that I've gone through and what really got me here.
“To be honest, all I was thinking about was the competition, because this is the first time that I really feel that focused, that disciplined on my career, on my competition. It's something that I've dreamt of since I was young, so the competition and being here is amazing.”
Al Ghotany will also celebrate his 20th birthday in Paris, the day after he makes his Olympic debut in the men’s -68kg event on 8 August. He knows what his presence means for refugees around the world, and on a personal note, is eager to spur on his development at the upcoming Games.
He explains, “I want to reproduce another Yahya, a new one. I really look forward to learning a lot from this experience and with my age, I still have many years ahead of me. Who is the new Yahya? He is the Yahya that fulfils my passions and all the dreams and the opportunities that the young Yahya always dreamt of.”