Perina Lokure Nakang

Last updated

Perina Lokure Nakang
Personal information
Born2003 (age 21–22)
Sport
Sport Athletics
EventMiddle-distance running
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800m: 2:08.20 (Paris, 2024) [1]

Perina Lokure Nakang (born 2003) is a middle-distance runner from South Sudan who now lives in Kenya after fleeing conflict in South Sudan. She competed in the 800 metres event at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team.

Contents

Early life

Nakang was born in South Sudan. Her name means "hard work" in Didinga. [2] She left to seek sanctuary in Kenya with her aunt in 2010 at the age of seven years old due to the conflict in her home country. They lived in a UNHCR refugee camp in Kakuma, northern Kenya. She was later reunited with her mother and four siblings, although her father died under unclear circumstances after she fled. To train and continue her education, she attended the boarding school All4Running Shoes4Africa Secondary School in Kapsabet, Kenya. [3] [4]

Career

Nakang tried several sports at the refugee camp and began running in 2019. She began with sprinting 100 or 200 metres before increasing the distance she ran. [3]

She is part of the World Athletics U20 refugee programme and the African Higher Education in Emergencies Network (AHEEN) and Youth Education and Sports (YES). She is coached by Janeth Jepkosgei in a group that also contains Brenda Chebet and Nelly Chepchirchir. She finished seventh at the Kenyan national trials 800m race in 2023. [5]

She competed in the 800 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. [6] [7] [8] Although she did not make it out of the first round of heats, she enjoyed competing at the same event as Athing Mu-Nikolayev, who she looks up to as she also has South Sudanese heritage. [3]

She competed at the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade as part of the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team. [9]

In May 2024, she was confirmed to be on the IOC Refugee Team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. [10] Ahead of the Olympics, she trained at a high-altitude camp in Eldoret. [2] In August, she competed at the Olympics in the 800 metres event and finished last in her heat, though she set a new personal best. [11]

In September 2025, she competed for the Athlete Refugee Team in the women's 800 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. [12] [13]

Competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Refugee Athletes
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 8th (h)800 m 2:15.84
2024 World Cross Country Championships Belgrade, Serbia 75th10 km XC 41:18
Olympic Games Paris, France 8th (h)800 m 2:08.20

Source: [1]

Personal life

She was one of four refugee athletes featured in a promotional video entitled Watch Where We're Going made by Nike in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, designed to highlight the experiences of discrimination and prejudice faced by refugees. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Perina Lokure Nakang". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 Minutaglio, Rose (24 July 2024). "What It's Like Going to the Olympics as a Refugee". ELLE. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Watta, Evelyn (13 November 2023). "Refugee Athlete Perina Lokure Nakang: "I want to emulate Athing Mu and be one of the best 800m runners"". Olympics.com. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ↑ Annibali, Alice (19 June 2023). "Refugee athletes see light at the end of the tunnel through U20 programme". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  5. ↑ Lagat, Justin (11 August 2023). "From Kakuma Refugee Camp to Budapest for Athlete Refugee Team's Nakang". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Budapest 2023". World Athletics. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Sankar, Vimal (12 August 2023). "Six refugee athletes to compete at Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships". Inside the Games. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "World Athletics presents six refugee athletes". francsjeux.com. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "All-female Athlete Refugee Team makes history in Belgrade". Pulse Sports. 1 April 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Paris2024: refugee team grows to 36 athletes". maisfutebol. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  11. ↑ de Villiers, Ockert (2 August 2024). "Paris 2024 Olympics athletics: Refugee middle-distance runner Perina Lokure Nakang clocks 800m PB on Games debut". Olympics.com. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 21 September 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  13. ↑ "Six-strong Athlete Refugee Team named for WCH Tokyo 25". World Athletics. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  14. ↑ Garcia, Dennis (27 May 202). "Nike and the Refugee Olympic Team: A Redefined Story". America-retail. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
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