This category was created in March 2016. The selection criteria include the sporting level, the official refugee status verified by the
United Nations, the personal situation, and the background of each athlete.
2016 Summer Olympics 2020 Summer Olympics At its meeting in Buenos Aires in October 2018, the
International Olympic Committee decided to establish the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) for the
2020 Summer Olympics. This decision built on the legacy of the
Refugee Olympic Team in 2016 and was part of the IOC's commitment to play its part in addressing the global refugee crisis and in carrying the message of solidarity and hope to millions of refugee athletes around the world. The IOC Session tasked Olympic Solidarity with establishing the conditions of participation and defining the team identification and selection process. These elements were carried out in close collaboration with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Sports Federations, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, and the
United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). On 20 June 2019, the IOC released the list of Refugee Athlete Scholarship holders who wished to join the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, Tokyo 2020. This announcement was made on World Athlete Day, celebrated every year on 20 June. The 56 Refugee Athlete Scholarship holders include the 10 athletes who were part of the first
Refugee Olympic Team in 2016, new individual athletes, and a group of athletes preparing at the
Tegla Loroupe Refugee Training Center in
Kenya. All were assisted by Olympic Solidarity as part of its support program for refugee athletes. The IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Tokyo Games consisted of 29 athletes—19 men and 10 women—hailing from 11 nations: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. These athletes competed across 12 sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, canoeing, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling. Swimmer
Yusra Mardini, who competed in the 2016 Rio Games as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team, and marathon runner
Tachlowini Gabriyesos were selected as flag bearers for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
2024 Summer Olympics ==See also==