They compete under the same flag but speak different languages and come from different parts of the world. After fleeing war and persecution, 36 athletes from 11 countries will compete in the Paris Games as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
Fernando Dayán Jorge is training hard for his third Olympic Games. As part for the Cuban national team, the 25-year-old canoeist already competed in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo where he won gold for the 1,000-meter canoe sprint. But these Paris Games will be different. Jorge was at the top of his career when he took a daunting step in March 2021 and defected, joining a growing number of Cuban athletes in deserting their country.
The 25-year-old canoeist was a two-time Olympian for Cuba’s national team in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Then, a gold medalist. A deserter of the Cuban team. A migrant. A maintenance worker. And a refugee. He said he watched friends forced to give up everything after migrating, but he fought to continue as a professional athlete.
“I’m here because I want to reach my dream. Not because I’m scared,” she declared from Spain, where she was granted asylum., or, as it’s popularly known, breakdancing. Talash prances and swivels on her hands and feet to the beat of hip-hop, swooshing her black and red hair around before striking a pose signaling the end of her performance.
Her club began receiving threats, Talash said, and one day, when a bomb hit very close, local police asked them to shut down over the dangers. Alsalami discovered his passion for athletics during physical education in school at age 15. A teacher noticed his talent for long jump and pushed him to participate in local and national competitions in Syria. But when civil war erupted, he could no longer practice. His family — he’s the youngest of nine siblings and comes from a family of tailors — was displaced several times within Syria, then fled to Turkey. Alsalami decided to continue on to Europe on his own.
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