Paris 2024 Olympics: Refugee athlete Edilio Centeno Nieves - 'I visualise myself in a final'
Edilio Centeno Nieves imagines how he wipes the tears from his face as the precious Olympic medal glistens around his neck.
The thought alone of reaching the Olympics might have seemed worlds removed from reality when the 44-year-old shooter escaped his homeland of Venezuela and found refuge in Mexico.
But Centeno Nieves has been given a new lease on life. Not only from his adopted country but the opportunity he received from the IOC to realise his dream of reaching the Olympic Games.
“I have a phrase that I always use which is 'Dreams never die'. Now that, thanks to God and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), I will be able to compete in the Olympic Games, my dream is to reach the Olympic final,” Centeno Nives said in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com.
“I don't know if sometimes I dream a little too much, but I dream of…an Olympic final. I visualise and see myself in a final, crying, but I see myself.”
'I want to be a hope, a light in the tunnel for millions of people'
The shooter was one of the 37 athletes, IOC President Thomas Bach named this year as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris Games 2024.
The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is representing more than 100 million forcibly displaced people around the world. The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is made up of 37 athletes – 24 men and 13 women – and will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling at the Games.
Supported through the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Programme, Centeno Nieves will be competing in the 10-metre air pistol event in the Paris 2024 shooting competition.
Centeno Nieves said his selection for the Olympic Games did not only represent a personal achievement but also served as a symbol of hope to others like him fleeing dire and life-threatening events in their lives.
“Now that I represent this beautiful cause I want to be a hope, a light in the tunnel for millions of people who are going through situations as complicated as refugees,” he said.
“We have to represent this with great responsibility, and it is something that goes beyond sport. It is a super big commitment that I feel and that I have.”
Edilio Centeno Nieves: From Venezuela's best to seeking refuge
Centeno represented Venezuela at international competitions and used to run a training academy in his home country where he coached aspiring shooters.
Before leaving Venezuela because of the ‘social and political situation’, Centeno Nieves was one of the top shooters in the country.
“You couldn’t live in peace. It was very complicated, very, very insecure, very difficult. And unfortunately, I had to leave the country,” said Centeno Nieves.
Centeno Nieves said he first spent some time working in Central American countries hoping for the situation to ‘calm down’ for him to return. He eventually applied for refugee status in Mexico where he was joined by his sister, Marialejandra, and reunited with their family.
Marialejandra trains alongside her brother who is her coach.
The brother-sister duo come from a long line of shooters with their grandfather laying the foundation and passing the baton from generation to generation.
Edilio Centeno Nieves presenting a broader cause
Centeno said his mother reminded him of the significance of his selection and that he represented a much bigger cause than his ambitions.
“My mother said to me, all those people who are refugees, you represent them. What you do is very important because it goes beyond sports,” Centeno Nieves said.
“I kind of reflected there because I did have mixed feelings. Because you love what is yours, your country, your homeland, your flag, your team. My mother told me they couldn’t take the Venezuelan away from me. She told me, ‘You represent that diaspora, you represent all those displaced people from our country’. And I hope that the situation improves so we can all return there, and the Olympic team of refugees is left without Edilio Centeno.”
Edilio Centeno Nieves: 'Dreams never die'
Centeno Nieves said making the team had opened his eyes to the plight of fellow refugees from around the world and had instilled a desire in him to create awareness of the displacement of people.
“These are chaotic, difficult situations, and now that I’m representing this cause I am becoming more familiar with the issue of refugees in the world, and I see it with much more concern,” he said.
“In particular, I feel a responsibility and a commitment to also make Latin American refugees visible. Because I see that the issue of refugees in Europe or Africa is addressed a lot. But Latin America is here too!”
As Centeno Nieves; Olympic dream comes into focus, he encourages fellow refugees to pursue their hopes and aspirations.
“Life takes 500 turns and one cannot imagine all the things that can happen. It's very hard. It's very difficult,” Centeno said.
“You have to look for something within yourself, a light that gives you strength because in the end, it is you who has to help yourself. You must always look within yourself for that strength that allows you to keep going after your dream.”