Athlete Refugee Team

The Athlete Refugee Team (ART) is a delegation under which refugee athletes can compete collectively at IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations, now known as World Athletics) competitions. The official IAAF logo was used as the team's flag until 2019. World Athletics collaborated with Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe to form the team in 2014 as a short-term response to the growing refugee crisis that left millions of people dislocated or stateless. However, it has since turned into a sort of permanent feature at World Athletics events due to the refugee crisis only worsening. Many of the athletes (who fled war or violence in their home countries) originate from a variety of nations such as: Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Ethiopia.^[1] They include a majority of runners, as well as professional swimmers, material artists, etc.

World Athletics helps by providing support to Loroupe as she works with the refugees in Ngong, Kenya on behalf of her foundation (the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation). Loroupe finds young, aspiring recruits at local running events and carefully selects them to be on the Athlete Refugee Team. The fastest ones are invited to the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation's training camp where they receive coaching from Loroupe and further develop their skills so that they may be prepared for the highest and most prestigious levels of competition like the Olympic Games.^[1]

The Athlete Refugee Team's first appearance was at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ever since their introduction, they have competed at every World Athletics Series including: the 2017 World Championships in Athletics,^[2] 2017 IAAF World Relays,^[3] 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships,^[4] and 2019 World Athletics Championships, among other events.^[5] One athlete (Puok Thiep Gatkuoth in men's marathon) was announced to compete at the 2018 European Athletics Championships,^[6] but did not start.^[7]

Over time, as the Athlete Refugee Team has grown, so has the funding for the programme behind it. World Athletics decided to expand the reach of the Athlete Refugee Team to several other locations throughout the globe, with athletes based not just in Kenya but: Germany, Israel, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, the organisation commits to financially sustaining and investing in the programme by continually seeking out coaches and competitive opportunities for the athletes.^[1]

Competition history

Olympic Games

• Athletes were represented under the label of Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) during the 2016 Summer Olympics, which later changed to the French version of Équipe olympique des réfugiés (EOR) during the 2020 Summer Olympics. They compete under the Olympic flag at the Games.

World Championships

World Indoor Championships

World Relay Championships

World Road Racing Championships

World Cross Country Championships

Continental Championships

Continental Indoor Championships

Age group events

Other events

See also

• Authorised Neutral Athletes
• Independent Olympians at the Olympic Games

Notes

1. ^ DNS in final

References

1. ^ "Athlete Refugee Team | Athletics for a Better World | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
2. ^ "IAAF: Athlete Refugee Team - Countries - IAAF World Championships London 2017 - iaaf.org". iaaf.org
3. ^ "IAAF: 4x800 Metres Relay Startlist - IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017 - iaaf.org". iaaf.org
4. ^ "IAAF: Athlete Refugee Team - Countries - IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 - iaaf.org". iaaf.org
5. ^ "IAAF: Athlete Refugee Team - Countries - IAAF World Championships Doha 2019 - iaaf.org". iaaf.org
6. ^ Final Entries - Athletes List by event. European Athletics Championships 2018, Berlin/GER
7. ^ "Marathon Men Final Results - European Athletics Championships 2018, Berlin/GER". Archived from the original on 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2018-08-13.