Inspiring stories of the Refugee Olympic team

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, a team consisting of refugees participates in the competition. Ten athletes compete in judo, swimming and athletics. They have become a symbol of hope for refugees around the world.

At the Maracana Stadium, where the opening of the Olympics took place, the refugee team came out to a standing ovation. Two athletes from the team have already managed to attract attention during their performances: Yusra Mardini, who showed excellent results in the 100-meter heats on Saturday and Tuesday, and Rami Anis, who broke a personal record in the freestyle swim. Then the tribunes gave him a standing ovation.

(12 photos in total)

The Olympic team of refugee athletes at the opening of the Olympic Games in Rio.

Rami Anis, swimmer from Syria

A 25-year-old native of Aleppo has been swimming since the age of 14. Due to the civil war, Anis' family fled to Istanbul. Rami continued his training there. He did not have the opportunity to participate in international competitions due to the lack of Turkish citizenship.

Anis left Turkey and crossed the sea by boat, successfully reaching the Greek shores. Then he sought asylum in Belgium. From Syria, he took with him only a bag, which contained only two jackets, two T-shirts and two pairs of pants.

Rami is determined to get to the Olympics in 2020, but already as part of the Syrian national team.

Yeh Pur Biel, track and field athlete from South Sudan

Yeh fled Sudan during the civil war. The guy managed to get to the refugee camp in Kenya alone. There he started playing football and started running.

His first appearance on the Olympic track will take place on August 12.

Yolande Bukasa Mabika, judoka from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mabika barely remembers the details of the escape from the DRC. There were armed clashes in the region, and the girl was separated from her family. She got into a center for refugee children in Kinshasa and began practicing judo there.

James Nyang Chienjek, track and field athlete from South Sudan

James fled Sudan at the age of 13 to avoid being abducted by militants who were then taking boys to military camps. He ended up in Kenya, in a refugee camp, went to school there and started running.

Yusra Mardini, swimmer from Syria

The athlete has already won the hearts of the audience after her Saturday performance. Back in Damascus, mired in war, she was considered a promising swimmer. At the age of 18, she and her sister had to leave their native country, travel through Lebanon and Turkey before they received asylum in Greece.

She and 20 other refugees were sailing in a motorboat off the coast of Turkey when the motor broke down. The vessel was intended for six people and could not withstand the load. The boat could easily capsize. To prevent this from happening, Yusra, her sister Sarah and two other strong swimmers jumped overboard and towed the boat with people all the way to Lesbos. Yusra now lives in Berlin.

Rosa Natike Lokonen, track and field athlete from South Sudan

Rosa fled Sudan at the age of 10, and since then she has been living in the Kakuma refugee camp, which is located in Kenya. She started running seriously at school, but was able to do it in special sports shoes only a year ago. Before that, she regularly ran distances of 10 kilometers barefoot.

She still remains in Kenya, although her parents have returned to South Sudan.

Jonas Kinde, marathon runner from Ethiopia

36-year-old Jonas Kinde is the oldest in the team. He fled Ethiopia and is now under special protection in Luxembourg.

Kinde works as a taxi driver in Luxembourg.

Angelina Nada Lohalit, track and field athlete from South Sudan

Angelina fled her home in South Sudan when she was 6 years old. She hasn't seen her parents since. Her main motivation at these Games is to find them and help them. The girl is 21 years old, now she lives in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. When Lohalit left her homeland, she immediately settled there — went to school and to work. On Saturday, she will compete in a 1.5-kilometer swim.

Popole Misenga, judoka from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

At the age of 9, Popole fled because of the fighting in the Congo. Then he lost his mother and stopped maintaining contact with his family. 8 days later, he was found in the forest and taken to Kinshasa. For the first time in judo Popol was in a center for refugee children and since then believes that the sport has changed his life.

He later fled Kinshasa and was granted refugee status in Brazil. When the young man arrived at the World Championships in 2013, the coach left him and three other athletes in a hotel without food and money for four days. Then they ran away and began to seek refuge. Misenga became the champion of Africa twice.

Popole will compete on Wednesday in the weight category up to 90 kg.

Paulo Amotun Lokoro, a long-distance runner from South Sudan

Lokoro was a shepherd, his village was located on the plains. He left Sudan because of the military conflict in the region.

At the age of 24, Paulo found his mother in the Kakuma camp. Then I started running.