When he started running, Yiech Pur Biel had to compete barefoot. Far from home in a new country, it was the first step towards rebuilding his life as a refugee.
“That’s when I decided now it is time to depend on myself and also to start a new life with determination,” he tells BBC Newsbeat.
In 2016, Biel made history competing in the 800m event as part of the first Olympic refugee team at the Rio summer Olympics in Brazil.
Ten years on, he’s making history again leading the first refugee team for the Youth Olympics as their Chef de Mission.
Joining almost 3,000 athletes, the small team of six will be wanting to make sure their debut counts – but Biel says they’re also hoping to send a message that “refugees still need our help”.
Hosted in Senegal, Saturday’s opening ceremony will launch the first ever Olympic sporting event on African soil.
Africa is home to nearly 45 million displaced people, out of almost 120 million globally, representing the world’s biggest displacement crisis.
Biel says for the refugee team, the Youth Olympics is “a chance for them to tell the world and also to represent the population, especially the refugee population, in Africa”.
“It’s about representing the hope of young people who are living in a refugee camp, who have lost their motivation or their talent.”
Leave a Reply