Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympics
| Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics |
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Individuals competed under the Olympic Flag
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| IOC code | ROT | ||||||||
| in Rio de Janeiro | |||||||||
| Competitors | 10 in 3 sports | ||||||||
| Flag bearer |
Rose Lokonyen (opening) Popole Misenga (closing) |
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| Medals |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
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The Refugee Olympic Team competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016, as independent Olympic participants. In March 2016 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach declared that the IOC would choose five to ten refugees to compete at the Rio Olympics, in the context of the "worldwide refugee crisis", of which the European migrant crisis is a prominent part. The athletes compete under the Olympic Flag. Initially, they were labeled "Team of Refugee Olympic Athletes", with the IOC country code ROA, but this was updated to Refugee Olympic Team with the country code ROT.
As part of an effort "to show solidarity with the world’s refugees", the United Nations Refugee Agency selected Ibrahim Al-Hussein, a Syrian refugee residing in Athens, Greece, to carry the Olympic flame through the Eleonas refugee and migrant camp in the city as part of the 2016 torch relay.
In addition, Kuwaiti athletes competed under the Olympic flag and the "Independent Olympic Athletes" title as a result of the suspension of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, their national Olympic Committee.
The IOC identified 43 potential candidates for inclusion in the team with the final selection to take into account sporting ability, personal circumstances, and United Nations-verified refugee status. In order to pay for athlete training, a fund of US$2 million was created by the IOC. National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were then asked to identify any displaced athletes in their countries who might be able to reach Olympic standard.
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