25 Aug 2023 - The Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) has announced 10 new refugee athletes who have been awarded scholarships to help them train towards the Olympic Games Paris 2024. This now brings the total number of Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders to 63. The athletes are from 12 countries, live in 23 host countries, and represent 13 sports.
The 10 new athletes who join the existing scholarship-holders represent five different sports and include the first ever athlete hosted by the National Olympic Committee of Denmark. The new athletes on the programme are:
- Amir Ansari (cycling, Afghanistan, host NOC: Sweden)
- Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves (shooting, Venezuela, host NOC: Mexico)
- Hadi Tiranvalipour (taekwondo, Iran, host NOC: Italy)
- Mahdia Sharifi (taekwondo, Afghanistan, host NOC: Italy)
- Marialejandra Coromoto Centeno Nieves (shooting, Venezuela, host NOC: Mexico)
- Mohammad Rashnonezhad (judo, Iran, host NOC: Netherlands)
- Omar Hassan Omar (athletics, Ethiopia, host NOC: Denmark)
- Omid Ahmadisafa (boxing, Iran, host NOC: Germany)
- Robert Gabriel Mujica Silva (taekwondo, Venezuela, host NOC: Peru)
- Roima Indonesia Mujica Silva (taekwondo, Venezuela, host NOC: Peru)
Aiming for the Games thanks to Refugee Athlete Scholarships
The Refugee Athlete Support programme is managed by the ORF and funded by the IOC through its Olympic Solidarity programme. The programme provides the athletes with financial support for training and competition in the lead-up to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, with the ultimate aim of being selected for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
The IOC established the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Programme following the participation of the first-ever IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The team was created by the IOC to raise awareness of the global refugee crisis and was announced by IOC President Thomas Bach at the 2015 UN General Assembly. The Rio 2016 team consisted of 10 athletes, who sent a powerful message of hope to the world through their journeys to the Games and their performances in Rio. A further 29 athletes competed as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Tokyo 2020.
Supporting refugees and displaced populations remains a key priority for the IOC, and is part of Recommendation 11 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5. The global refugee crisis continues to be a pressing and urgent issue, with more than 100 million people worldwide currently displaced from their homes.
The Olympic Refuge Foundation builds on this commitment, functioning in lieu of a traditional National Olympic Committee, managing the Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024.
Follow their journey on social media
The composition of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024 will be announced in 2024. The Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders’ stories and journeys can be followed on the IOC Refugee Olympic Team social media handles:
