The foundation and the refugee Olympic team have been awarded this Wednesday with the 2022 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. The group, which at the Tokyo Games was made up of 29 athletes of 11 different nationalities, was an initiative created by the IOC which made its debut in Rio de Janeiro (2016) and now, six years later, receives one of the most important international awards.
The team was created, under the auspices of the UN and the aforementioned IOC, so that athletes who could not compete with their flag for political or war reasons, would have an opportunity to fight for glory in the biggest sporting event on the calendar. The team’s foundation, for its part, is the body that supports the Olympians during their preparation for the Games, providing them with material and accommodation.
Although they didn’t get any medals in Japan, the group thrilled the fans and even received the honor of being the second to start in the opening ceremony, only behind the host.
The Refugee Olympic Foundation and the Refugee Olympic Team aim, in the words of IOC President Thomas Bach, to be “a symbol of hope for all the world’s refugees, to raise awareness of one of the most important crises that the international community is facing and using sport as a means of humanitarian aid, cooperation and development of people affected by conflicts at an international level”, highlighted the Princess of Asturias Foundation. The Olympic Refugee Foundation works with international organizations, private sector companies, non-governmental organizations and other foundations to establish and foster cooperative programs through sport. Protecting young people from violence and social exclusion, promoting access to education, health (with special attention to mental health in its latest initiatives) and sports practice are, among other purposes, the main lines of the strategy of work of the twelve programs that the Foundation has launched since its creation, and from which around 200,000 young people have already benefited.
The jury for this Award was chaired by Abel Antón Rodrigo and made up of Alejandro Blanco Bravo, Vicente del Bosque González, Miguel Carballeda Piñeiro, María Paz Corominas Guerin, Joaquín Folch-Rusiñol Corachán, Juan Ignacio Gallardo Tomé, Patricia García Rodríguez, Vicente Jiménez Navas , Santiago Nolla Zayas, Edurne Pasabán Lizarribar, Paloma del Río Cañadas, Alberto Suárez Laso and Theresa Zabell Lucas.
Abdullah Sediqi (Afghanistan), Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi (Iran) and Kimia Alizadeh Zenozi (Iran), in taekwondo; Ahmad Baddredin Wais (Syria) and Masomah Ali Zada (Afghanistan), in cycling; Ahmad Alikaj (Syria), Javad Majoub (Iran), Muna Dahouk (Syria), Nigara Shaheen (Afghanistan), Popole Misenga (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Sanda Aldass (Syria), in judo; Aker Al Obaidi (Iraq), in Greco-Roman wrestling; Alaa Maso (Syria) and Yusra Mardini (Syria), in swimming; Angelina Nadai Lohalith (South Sudan), Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed (Sudan), James Nyang Chiengjiek (South Sudan), Dorian Keletela (Congo), Paulo Amotun Lokoro (South Sudan), Rose Nathike Lokonyen (South Sudan) and Tachlowini Gabriyesos (Eritrea), in track and field; Aram Mahmoud (Syria), badminton; Cyrille Fagat Tchatchet II (Cameroon), weightlifting; Eldric Sella Rodriguez (Venezuela) and Wessam Salamana (Syria), boxing; Hamoon Derafshipour (Iran) and Wael Sheub (Syria), in karate; Luna Solomon (Eritrea), shot put; and Saeid Fazloula (Iran), in canoeing, were the team’s inegrants in Tokyo, although the award has been given to the agency in its entirety.
