IOC Refugee Olympic Team set for Paris 2024 after successful camp in Bayeux: 'We are excited to go to the Olympics'
They trained hard, got to know each other, learned new things, and have now left as a big family.
After four days of preparation and bonding in the historic town of Bayeux, France, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team ended their pre-Games camp on Thursday (18 July) and is now ready for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“Everything's been awesome. For the Olympic Refugee Team to organise this, you know, four days where you get to meet the whole team and support every one of us, that's what makes us unique. Everyone has been so welcoming and excited to go to the Olympics,” said boxer Cindy Ngamba.
“Here in Bayeux, everything was fantastic. The atmosphere was super, everyone was happy, and we had a good team get-together,” added canoeing athlete Saeid Fazloula.
“I loved it. We all come from a similar background, and we’ve shared a lot of experiences together. Now, I feel ready to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics,” concluded runner Farida Abaroge, who is one of the 37 athletes on the team.
The majority of refugee athletes left the camp in Normandy to head straight to the Olympic Village in the French capital.
Athletes from the Refugee Olympic Team had the opportunity to bond during the camp in Bayeux.
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Each athlete had the opportunity to train every day in top-class facilities, mostly located around their hotel, where they could receive assistance and treatment from doctors and physical therapists.
During their four-day stay in Bayeux, they also had access to media and medical briefings and could join a number of team-building activities.
“There is a lot to do; you can't really have a moment of peace,” chuckled swimmer Alaa Maso. “You're always busy with somebody speaking or doing something. And that's also very fun.”
The team also took part in a formal dinner at the town hall and a bike ride to the symbolic Arromanches beach, one of the beaches where D-Day landings took place in 1944. “It was amazing. We all were on our bikes, and we came all the way from the hotel to here, and it was amazing,” said badminton player Dorsa Yavarivafa.
“We had an amazing view. We saw some kites flying. It was very, very beautiful. They taught us a lot about this place and what happened here before. So it was amazing, and this lovely community, the energy is unreal here.”
The IOC Olympic Refugee Team at the Public Garden in Bayeux
Two-time Olympian Yusra Mardini, who was part of the inaugural Olympic Refugee Team Rio, came to visit the camp and witnessed first-hand how the team has evolved since 2016.
“The progress is honestly incredible,” she said after interviewing some of her former teammates as a broadcast journalist for Discovery. “This team is so unique and special in their own way. And it's just incredible to see what the IOC and the NOCs around the world are doing together. It shows that when we all stand together, we can make incredible things happen.”
Before embarking on a new Olympic adventure, the team is embracing more than ever the responsibility of representing a population that has grown from 65 to over 120 million people over the last 10 years.
“Our biggest message is to show these displaced people that no matter what obstacles they have to go through and we have to go through, we managed to be back at the biggest sports event in the world,” added Maso.
“For me, that's the biggest goal, besides swimming, to try to show young refugees and young people in general that it's always possible as long as discipline and sacrifice are there. So that's my mission.”