Refugee Paralympic Team ready to rock at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
After a historic performance at Paris 2024 for the Refugee Olympic Team, winning its first medal, attention now turns to the Refugee Paralympic Team (RPT).
For the third time, refugee Paralympians will get to compete at the Paralympic Games, and Paris 2024 sees the biggest RPT yet – with eight athletes and one sighted guide, all refugees, representing the team.
The eight competitors are based in six different host countries and compete in six different sports: Para athletics, Para powerlifting, Para table tennis, Para taekwondo, Para triathlon, and wheelchair fencing.
Four of them have previously competed at the Paralympic Games, including one as a refugee athlete at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Meet the Refugee Paralympic Team for Paris 2024.
Paris 2024 Refugee Paralympic Team: The returning athletes
Ibrahim Al Hussein returns for his third Paralympic Games, having been part of the RPT at each of the last two Paralympics.
The first two times, the Greece-based athlete – who lost his right foot and part of his left foot when escaping the Syrian civil war in 2012 – competed in para swimming.
However, he has now switched to Para triathlon, and even finished fourth at a World Triathlon Para Cup event in A Coruña, Spain, in 2023.
"There have been many, but one of the important events in my life was the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games when I competed for the Refugee Paralympic Team," he told the IPC. "It changed my life completely and opened doors and new horizons for me."
Zakia Khudadadi competed at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 for Afghanistan just days after the country fell to the Taliban, having managed to leave her homeland and move to France, where she is now based.
The Para taekwondo athlete, who is missing her left forearm, won gold in her category at the European Para Championships 2023 and also won her Paralympic qualifier event, making her a real medal hopeful for the RPT in Paris.
"It is a great honour because I am representing millions of refugees who have disabilities in these Games, and I will participate with immense pride," she said. "Hopefully we can inspire them and encourage them to follow their dreams."
The third returning Paralympian is Salman Abbariki, a Para athletics shot put thrower who competed at London 2012 for Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abbariki, who competes as a seated para athlete, brings with him medal-winning pedigree: he is an Asian Para Games champion from 2010.
Now based in Germany, he said: "I can tell people with disabilities that in no way should disability be a limitation to your progress. You can be an inspiration in the lives of others."
Guillaume Junior Atangana will become the first visually impaired member of the RPT in Paris 2024, having represented Cameroon three years ago in Tokyo.
Currently based in the United Kingdom, Atangana and his guide Donard Ndim Nyamjua – who is also a refugee – are due to compete over both 100m and 400m in Para athletics in Paris.
"I hope to be at my best, to entertain the public and to show everyone what I am capable of on the track," he shared.
Paris 2024: Meet the newcomer Refugee Paralympic Team members
The other four RPT members will be first-time Paralympians in Paris, providing the latest life-changing experience for them in their sporting careers.
Hadi Darvish is a powerlifter originally from Iran, but who now lives and trains in Germany. "I dreamed of going to the Paralympics ever since I watched the London 2012 Games on television," he told the IPC.
Since arriving and settling in Germany, Darvish has competed at national level and been invited to the world and European championships, which he has not been able to compete at due to funding issues.
However, having won a bronze medal at a World Cup event in Georgia in June, Darvish will be a contender in Paris.
Another debutant in Paris will be Sayed Amir Hossein Hosseini Pour, a Para table tennis player.
Hossein, who plays in a standing class and has a physical impairment in his upper body, hopes to inspire other people with his performances.
"Hopefully people will see, through me, that there are always opportunities no matter what you are going through," he shared.
Italy-based Amelio Castro Grueso will represent the RPT in wheelchair fencing in Paris with hopes of a medal after winning bronze at the Americas Championships in May.
Castro lost the movement in his legs aged 20 when he was involved in a traffic accident, leaving him wheelchair-bound.
"After a long journey of recovery, I decided I would write a book to try to inspire people," he explained of his start in sport. "Then I had an idea: if I could do a sport and excel in it and win medals, that would give me visibility and capture the attention of the public.
"My dream is to win a Paralympic medal and to finish writing my book."
Another Para taekwondo player, Hadi Hassanzada, makes up the RPT team in Paris.
The Afghanistan-born athlete grew up in Iran, but his return to his home country was cut short by the worsening security situation.
Hassanzada, who had his right arm amputated, now lives in Austria and hopes to bring hope to people around the world.
"Life really becomes meaningful when you find a way to overcome challenges and there is always a way to achieve happiness and success," he said.