Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics

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Refugee Paralympic Team at the
2020 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic flag (2019).svg
IPC code RPT
NPC Refugee Paralympic Team
in Tokyo, Japan
Competitors6 in 4 sports
Flag bearers Alia Issa, Abbas Karimi
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Paralympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
Paralympic flag.svg  Individual Paralympic Athletes (2016)

The Refugee Paralympic Team, previously the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. The team consisted of six refugee and asylee Paralympic athletes who represent the estimated 82 million refugees in the world. The formation of the team and its six athletes was announced on 30 June 2021 in a joint statement by the IPC and UNHCR. [1] [2] The team had made its debut at the previous edition of the Paralympics that consisted of just two athletes. That team was considered coordinated and was referred to as "the first". [3] The team was the first to enter the Japan National Stadium during the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony. [1] [2]

Contents

Representation

The team do not represent any particular country; they represent the estimated 82 million people around the world who are refugees. The UNHCR estimates that 12 million of the 82 million refugees have disabilities. The team was welcomed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. [1] [2]

Participation

The team was announced on 30 June 2021 by the International Paralympic Committee. [1] [2] American swimmer Ileana Rodriguez was chosen to lead the Refugee Paralympic Team as the chef de mission. Rodriguez was supposed to have the honour of carrying the flag in the opening ceremony's parade of nations [4] but it was actually carried by Karimi and Issa. Rodriguez noted that it was appropriate that refugees should be represented at the Paralympics as they had been founded by Ludwig Guttmann who was himself a refugee. [5]

AthleteCountry of OriginHost NPCSportEvent
Shahrad Nasajpour Flag of Iran.svg  Iran Flag of the United States.svg  United States Para athletics Men's Discus F37
Alia Issa Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Para athletics Women's Club throw F32
Anas Al Khalifa Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Para canoe Men's Va'a Single 200m - KL2
Men's Va'a Single 200m - VL2
Abbas Karimi Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan Flag of the United States.svg  United States Para swimming Men's 50m backstroke S5
Men's 50m backstroke S5
Ibrahim Al Hussein Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Para swimming Men's 50m freestyle S9
Men's 100m breaststroke SB8
Parfait Hakizimana Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda Para taekwondo Men's K44 -61 kg

All athletes are new to the Paralympics except Ibrahim Al Hussein [6] and Shahrad Nasajpour [7] who competed in 2016.

Number of competitors by event

The following lists the number of competitors by event and gender.

SportMenWomenTotal
Athletics 112
Paracanoeing 101
Swimming 202
Taekwondo 101
Total516

Athletics

AthleteEventResultRank
Alia Issa Women's club throw F32 16.338
Shahrad Nasajpour Men's Discus throw F37 42.258

Paracanoeing

AthleteEventHeatsSemi-finalFinal
TimeRankTimeRankTimeRank
Anas Al Khalifa Men's Kayak KL1 57.0106 SF53.6545 FB54.2653
Men's Va'a VL2 1:04.6586 SF1:01.4675did not advance

Swimming

AthleteEventHeatsFinal
TimeRankTimeRank
Ibrahim Al Hussein Men's 50 m freestyle S9 30.2723Did not advance
Men's 100 m breaststroke SB8 DSQDid not advance
Abbas Karimi Men's 50 m butterfly S5 36.365 Q38.168
Men's 50 m backstroke S5 46.4815Did not advance

Taekwondo

AthleteEventRound of 16QuarterfinalsRepechage 1SemifinalsRepechage 2Final / BM
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Parfait Hakizimana Men's –61 kg Flag of Brazil.svg  Torquato  (BRA)
L 4–27
Did not advanceFlag of Turkey.svg  Bozteke  (TUR)
LWD
Did not advance

Sponsorship

The team is supported by the IPC organizationally, but financially they are sponsored by AirBNB. [1] [2] AirBNB cover the costs of the team and this allows the athletes to concentrate on their training. AirBNB have a new department to support the team and they run an on-line forum where the athletes talk about their lives. [3] ASICS are supplying the team's outfits as this adds to their sense of identity. This is particularly important as each of them cannot use the flags of the nation where they were born. UNHCR also assist and one of the team's athletes, Abbas Karimi, has been made a UNHCR "High-Profile Supporter". [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "IPC announces six athletes to compete for the Refugee Paralympic Team at Tokyo 2020" . Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "IPC announces six athletes to compete for the Refugee Paralympic Team at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games". UNHCR. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Building the first Refugee Paralympic Team | sportanddev.org". www.sportanddev.org. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. "Refugee Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2020 announced | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  5. "Building the first Refugee Paralympic Team | sportanddev.org". www.sportanddev.org. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  6. "Rio Paralympics: Two refugee Para-athletes named for Rio Paralympics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. "Shahrad Nasajpour – Athletics | Paralympic Athlete Profile". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 4 July 2021.