Refugee Olympic Team

The Refugee Olympic Team debuted at the 2016 Rio Olympics with just 10 athletes and has since grown to 37 competitors at the 2024 Paris Games. You'll find that their flag was designed by Syrian refugee artist Yara Said, with colors representing life jackets and lives lost at sea. Cindy Ngamba made history by earning the team's first-ever medal — a bronze in boxing. There's still so much more to discover about this extraordinary team.

Key Takeaways

• The Refugee Olympic Team was announced in March 2016 by IOC President Thomas Bach, responding to a global crisis of 65 million displaced people.
• The team's flag was designed by Syrian refugee artist Yara Said, with colors symbolizing life jackets and lives lost at sea.
• Starting with just 10 athletes in 2016, the team grew remarkably to 37 athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
• Cindy Ngamba made history by winning the Refugee Olympic Team's first-ever medal, a boxing bronze, at the 2024 Olympics.
• Athletes must meet standard Olympic qualification standards alongside strict UNHCR refugee verification requirements to compete for the team.

How the Refugee Olympic Team First Came to Be

In March 2016, IOC President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, responding to a global migrant crisis that had forcibly displaced 65 million people worldwide. The announcement came at the peak of Europe's displacement crisis in 2015, building on a 2014 UN General Assembly resolution recognizing sport's role in peace and development.

The team embodied sporting spirit by giving displaced athletes without national representation a platform for global representation at the highest competitive level. Bach's decision guaranteed that Olympic-level athletes wouldn't miss their chance simply because they lacked a country to compete for. The IOC fully funded their training and participation, formally introducing the first-ever refugee team to compete at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics under the Olympic flag. The IOC also asked National Olympic Committees to help identify refugee athlete candidates who could qualify for the team.

The team marches in the opening ceremony after Greece, a position of honor that reflects the historical significance of the nation where the Olympics originated and highlights the team's special standing among all competing nations.

Who Qualifies to Compete for the Refugee Olympic Team?

Qualifying for the Refugee Olympic Team isn't as simple as being displaced — athletes must meet a strict set of criteria spanning refugee status, athletic merit, and institutional endorsement.

First, you must satisfy UNHCR verification requirements, meaning the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees must formally recognize your refugee status. Next, you'll need to meet scholarship program acceptance criteria through the Olympic Solidarity Refugee Athlete Scholarship Programme.

The IOC then selects scholarship holders based on your sporting level, personal background, and elite-level potential. Your host country's National Olympic Committee must also sponsor and endorse you. Beyond refugee status, you must still meet standard Olympic qualification standards in your sport.

Only after clearing every checkpoint — UNHCR, scholarship, NOC sponsorship, and athletic qualification — does the IOC Executive Board finalize your selection. Once selected, athletes compete under the Olympic flag rather than representing any single nation.

Athletes on the team frequently face logistical hurdles leading up to competition, including difficulty obtaining visas and travel documents, which is why they are often provided with laissez-passer documents to help them cross international borders.

How the Team Has Grown From 10 to 36 Athletes

What began as a modest team of 10 athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics has since evolved into one of the Games' most compelling storylines. Selected from 43 candidates across four countries, those first competitors represented swimmers, runners, judokas, and a marathoner united by displacement and resilience. 37 athletes are set to compete in Paris 2024, marking a significant growth in the team's representation on the world stage. The team now includes competitors from 11 countries, spanning nations such as Cuba, Afghanistan, and South Sudan.

Yusra Mardini, Rose Lokonyen, and the Athletes Who Defined the Team

Few athletes have captured the spirit of the Refugee Olympic Team quite like Yusra Mardini and Rose Lokonyen. Their stories reflect diverse refugee journeys and sports as healing across vastly different circumstances.

Mardini fled Syria in 2015, swimming three hours to push a sinking boat to safety before competing in Rio 2016. Lokonyen escaped South Sudan's fighting and trained in Kakuma Refugee Camp alongside teammates who'd become legends.

Three defining moments shaped the team's identity:

1. Mardini competed in Rio's 100m butterfly, finishing 45th while inspiring millions.
2. Lokonyen represented displaced persons during a global crisis affecting 65 million people.
3. Kakuma produced five 2016 teammates, including Yiech Pur Biel and Anjelina Nadai Lohalith.

You can see how their shared passion unified athletes despite vastly different backgrounds. Mardini has also served as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, using her platform to advocate for refugees around the world. For refugee athletes, competing on the world stage serves as a powerful symbol of hope, courage, and determination, demonstrating what becomes possible when displaced people are given access to sports opportunities.

The Flag, Emblem, and Name That Give the Refugee Olympic Team Its Identity

When a team has no nation, its symbols carry extraordinary weight. Syrian refugee artist Yara Said designed the flag's vivid orange and black colors after life jackets worn during Mediterranean crossings — compelling design choices rooted in lived experience. Said herself fled Damascus in 2014, making the symbolism deeply personal.

The orange shade represents sun-bleached vests, with roughly one million abandoned in Lesvos alone. The black stripe honors those who crossed treacherous seas. Simple enough for a child to draw, the flag speaks for all 65 million displaced people worldwide.

These thoughtful branding elements extend beyond the flag. Syrian refugee composer Moutaz Arian created a wordless anthem, deliberately transcending language barriers. Amnesty International supported the identity system, and supporters could download the symbols freely to demonstrate solidarity. The Refugee Nation project also produced a bold logo as part of its complete identity system. When the flag and anthem were delivered to athletes in Rio, judo athlete Yolande Mabika wrapped herself in the flag, visibly moved by finally having a symbol to call her own.

How the Refugee Olympic Team Shifts Global Awareness of Displacement

Beyond its athletic achievements, the Refugee Olympic Team serves as a powerful megaphone for one of humanity's most pressing crises. With over 120 million displaced people worldwide, the team transforms statistics into human stories you can't ignore.

Media partnerships with broadcasters like Discovery and Eurosport amplified athlete experiences, bringing displacement realities into living rooms globally.

The '1 in 100 Million' campaign and Nike collaboration elevated athletes beyond competitors into powerful symbols.

The team shifts awareness in three key ways:

1. Replacing pity narratives with stories of resilience and talent
2. Connecting athlete experiences directly to the broader displacement crisis
3. Partnering with global media to sustain attention beyond the Games

Every competition appearance reminds you that refugees enrich societies rather than burden them. The team was first created as a symbol of hope, drawing global attention to the plight of displaced people everywhere.

Boxer Cindy Ngamba made history at the 2024 Olympics by winning the first medal ever claimed by the Refugee Olympic Team, earning a bronze in boxing while unable to return to her home country of Cameroon.