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Picture by Olympic Refuge Foundation It's official: 36 athletes will form the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Paris 2024, representing the world's displaced population of over 100 million people at this summer's Olympic Games Paris 2024. The 36 athletes come from 11 different countries of origin, and are currently hosted by 15 different National Olympic Committees. In Paris, they will compete in 12 different sports: aquatics (swimming), athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoe (slalom and sprint), cycling (road), judo, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman). International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach made the announcement during a ceremony at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (2 May). He said: "We welcome all of you with open arms. You are an enrichment to our Olympic Community, and to our societies. "With your participation in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential of resilience and excellence. This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world." The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is competing at the Olympic Games for the third time, after previous appearances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. This year, its Chef de Mission will be Masomah Ali Zada, who competed as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020. All 36 athletes on the team have refugee status in their host nations, verified by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The team's composition was approved by the IOC Executive Board, based on various criteria which included the athletes' sporting performance, their countries of origin, as well as a balance of sports and gender. The team consists of 23 men and 13 women, from countries of origin on three continents: Africa, the Americas, and Asia. It includes first-time Olympians, members of the previous Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020, and Olympians who competed for their countries of origin before becoming refugees. In Paris, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will compete under the team acronym EOR, from the French équipe olympique des réfugiés. For the first time, it will have its own team emblem - featuring a heart at its centre - to unify the team, instead of competing under the Olympic flag. Chef-de-mission Ali Zada said: "The athletes are not representing a specific country; they are representing the Refugee Olympic Team. Having our own emblem creates a sense of belonging and empowers us to also stand for the population of more than 100 million people who share this same experience. I cannot wait to wear it proudly!" These are the 36 athletes who have been selected for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Paris 2024, their gender, country of origin, host NOC, and sport: Check out the new Refugee Team page Related content
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