The International Olympic Committee is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The modern Olympic Games are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories, participating. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place. The Olympic Games are held every four years. Since 1994, they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad.
Jacques Jean Marie, Count Rogge was a Belgian sports administrator and physician, who served as the 8th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge became the IOC's Honorary President, a lifetime position, which he held until his death from Parkinson's disease in August 2021.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The USOPC is one of only four NOCs in the world that also serve as the National Paralympic Committee for their country. The USOPC is responsible for supporting, entering and overseeing U.S. teams for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and Parapan American Games and serves as the steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States.
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August. Rio de Janeiro was announced as the host city at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2 October 2009.
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format, though in reverse order with the Olympic Winter Games held in leap years instead of the Games of the Olympiad. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012.
Sir Philip Lee Craven is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August. A total of 11,238 athletes representing 207 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated, including first-time entrants Kosovo, South Sudan, and the Refugee Olympic Team. The games featured 306 events in 28 sports and 41 disciplines. The 2016 Summer Games were the first Olympics to be held in South America.
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, was a summer multi-sport event held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August. A total of 10,768 athletes from 204 nations participated in 302 events in 26 sports across 39 different disciplines.
Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a result of international sanctions, from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees, and from Russia for mass violations of anti-doping rules and, in addition to Belarus, the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
Yusra Mardini OLY is a Syrian former competition swimmer and refugee of the Syrian civil war. She was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team (ROT) that competed under the Olympic flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On 27 April 2017, Mardini was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. She also competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR). She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023, alongside her sister, Sarah.
The Refugee Olympic Team competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016, as independent Olympic participants.
Raheleh Asemani is an Iranian-born taekwondo practitioner who competes internationally for Belgium. She participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She has a history of participating in the Asian games.
Popole Misenga is a judoka originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
James Nyang Chiengjiek is a runner originally from South Sudan, but now living and training in Kenya. He was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He placed last in his 400 m heat. He was also qualified to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ROT, and placed last in his 800 m heat after tripping due to a fellow competitor's involuntary touch.
Yiech Pur Biel is a track and field athlete and UNHCR goodwill ambassador originally from Nasir, South Sudan, but now living and training in the United States. He was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team in the 800 m event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He placed last in his heat.
Yonas Kinde is a track and field athlete originally from Ethiopia, but now living and training in Luxembourg, who was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is coached by Yves Göldi. Yonas ran his fastest marathon with a time of 2 hours 17 minutes.
The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world in order to raise global awareness of the scale of the migrant crisis in Europe. In September 2017, the IOC established the Olympic Refuge Foundation to supporting refugees over the long term.
The Foundation for Global Sports Development is a 501(c) organization which creates and supports programs promoting sportsmanship, education, fair play and ethics for children around the world. Attorney David Ulich is president of the foundation and author and psychologist Steven Ungerleider is vice president of the board of the foundation.
