Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics

The Refugee Olympic Team competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016, as independent Olympic participants.

In March 2016, the International Olympic Committee decided to choose five to ten refugees to compete at the Olympics because of the worldwide refugee crisis. This was a way to show support for people who had to leave their homes. As part of this effort, the United Nations Refugee Agency chose Ibrahim Al-Hussein, a Syrian refugee living in Athens, Greece, to help carry the Olympic flame through the Eleonas refugee camp during the 2016 torch relay.

The team was first called "Team of Refugee Olympic Athletes" with the code ROA, but in June 2016, the name was changed to the Refugee Olympic Team with the code ROT. The athletes competed under the Olympic Flag, and the Refugee Nation flag was also used to represent the team in an unofficial way.

Team selection and funding

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) looked at 43 athletes to decide who could join the Refugee Olympic Team. They chose athletes based on their skills, personal stories, and refugee status confirmed by the United Nations. To help with training costs, the IOC created a fund of US$2 million. National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were asked to find any displaced athletes in their countries who could compete at the Olympic level.

Three athletes were first considered: Yusra Mardini, a 17-year-old Syrian swimmer who crossed from Turkey to Greece by swimming after her boat’s motor stopped; Raheleh Asemani, an Iranian taekwondo athlete training in Belgium; and judoka Popole Misenga, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and now living in Brazil. Mardini and Asemani received scholarships from the IOC. Asemani later became a citizen of Belgium and asked to compete for the Belgian team.

More candidates were found, including cyclists Ahmad Badreddin Wais and Nazir Jaser from Syria, triathlete Mohamad Masoo, and 23 athletes from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where former marathon world record holder Tegla Loroupe helped with support.

On June 3, 2016, the IOC announced that ten athletes would compete as part of the refugee team. The team was led by Loroupe as a "peace ambassador". Rose Lokonyen was chosen to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, and judoka Popole Misenga carried the flag at the closing ceremony.

Athlete	Country of origin	Host NOC	Sport	Event
James Chiengjiek	South Sudan	Kenya	Athletics	400 m
Yiech Biel	South Sudan	Kenya	Athletics	800 m
Paulo Lokoro	South Sudan	Kenya	Athletics	1500 m
Yonas Kinde	Ethiopia	Luxembourg	Athletics	Marathon
Popole Misenga	Democratic Republic of Congo	Brazil	Judo	90 kg
Rami Anis	Syria	Belgium	Swimming	100 m butterfly
Rose Lokonyen	South Sudan	Kenya	Athletics	800 m
Anjelina Lohalith	South Sudan	Kenya	Athletics	1500 m
Yolande Mabika	Democratic Republic of Congo	Brazil	Judo	70 kg
Yusra Mardini	Syria	Germany	Swimming	100 m freestyle

Athletics

Further information: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Four men and two women from the Refugee Olympic Team took part in the athletics events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Yonas Kinde, who is from Ethiopia, competed in the men's Marathon when he was 36 years old. He finished the race in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 8 seconds, placing 90th out of 140 runners.

James Chiengjiek and Yiech Biel, both from South Sudan, ran the 400 meters and 800 meters respectively. James finished eighth in his heat with a time of 52.89 seconds, and Yiech also finished eighth in his heat with a time of 1 minute and 54.67 seconds. Unfortunately, they did not move on to the next round.

Rose Lokonyen and Anjelina Lohalith, also from South Sudan, competed in the women's 800 meters and 1500 meters. Rose finished seventh in her heat with a time of 2 minutes and 16.64 seconds, and Anjelina finished last in hers with a time of 4 minutes and 47.38 seconds. Neither advanced to the next round.

Lastly, Paulo Lokoro from South Sudan ran the men's 1500 meters. He finished 11th in his heat with a time of 4 minutes and 3.96 seconds and did not move on to the semi-finals.

Track & road events

Judo

Further information: Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Two judo athletes joined the Refugee Olympic Team. Popole Misenga and Yolande Mabika are both from the Democratic Republic of Congo but trained in Brazil. Misenga, who was 24, competed in the men's middleweight event on August 10. He won his second match but lost in the third round, finishing in ninth place. Mabika, who was 28, also competed on August 10 in the women's −70 kg category. She lost her first match and finished in 17th place.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Popole Misenga	Men's −90 kg	Bye	Singh (IND) W 001–000	Gwak D-h (KOR) L 000–100	Did not advance
Yolande Mabika	Women's −70 kg	—N/a	Bolder (ISR) L 000–110	Did not advance

Swimming

Further information: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Two swimmers joined the Refugee Olympic Team, one boy and one girl, both from Syria. The boy was Rami Anis, who lived in Belgium, and the girl was Yusra Mardini, who lived in Germany.

Rami Anis competed in two swimming races but did not move on to the next rounds. Yusra Mardini also swam in two races and did not move on either. Her story, along with her sister Sara, was shown in a Netflix film called The Swimmers.