USA finished on top of the medal tally with 40 golds, 44 silver and 42 bronze at the 33rd edition of the Olympic Games in Paris. A total of 90 countries won at least one medal at the Games while the IOC Olympic Refugee Team was the 91st contingent to win a medal. A total of 37 athletes across 12 sports represented the Refugee Olympic Team that doesn't belong to any specific country. Let us know more about this contingent and what are the eligibility rules to represent it:
What is the Olympic Refugee Team?
The IOC Refugee Olympic Team represents more than 100 million forcibly displaced people across the world. To be eligible to represent this team, an athlete must be an elite competitor in their respective sport and be a refugee in their host country recognised by UNCHR, the UN Refugee Agency. The first-ever Olympic Refugee Team was made up in 2016 when a total of 10 athletes were sent to Rio for the Games while in Tokyo, 29 athletes participated from this team.
The number went up from 29 to 37 athletes for the Paris Olympics. The team was led by the Chef de Mission, Masomah Ali Zada who was a member of the contingent at the Tokyo Olympics. Most of the athletes of this team are supported through the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Programme, which is managed by the ORF and funded by Olympic Solidarity.
Who won the first-ever medal for the Olympic Refugee Team?
The Olympic Refugee Team couldn't win a single medal at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. However, the contingent opened its account at the Paris Games with Cindy Ngamba winning a bronze medal in the women's boxing 75kg category. Interestingly, she was the first member of the team to qualify for the Paris Olympics and was also one of the flag bearers at the opening ceremony.
Cindy is based out of the UK and is well-supported by the British Olympic Association and GB Boxing. The 25-year-old trains regularly with the GB team at their training centre in Sheffield. Thanks to her bronze medal at the Olympics, the IOC Refugee Team finished at the joint-84th position in the medal tally.
