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As they finalise preparations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, members of the Refugee Paralympic Team have been taking part in a training camp in Reims, France, at the Centre for Resources, Expertise and Sport Performance (CREPS).
Organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) with the support of the French Ministry of Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Paris 2024, the training camp runs from 12-21 August and is the first time the athletes have come together as one team.
In addition to final training sessions and providing access to sports medicine experts at CREPS, the athletes have been taking part in team bonding sessions, doing interviews with the world’s media, and receiving the official Asics kit they will wear during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Paris 2024 marks the third successive Paralympic Games the IPC has assembled a Refugee Paralympic Team. According to London 2012 Paralympian and Refugee Paralympic Team Chef de Mission, Nyasha Mharakurwa, the group is the best prepared yet.
“It has been fantastic to bring the team together for the first time to benefit from such world class sport facilities at CREPS in Reims as we put the finishing touches on our preparations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games,” said Mharakurwa.
Worldwide Paralympic partner, Airbnb, is the RPT Official Partner and since Tokyo 2020 has been supporting the IPC’s efforts to bring the team to the Games, providing individual support to each athlete to enable them to focus on their training and perform at their best.
“The IPC has been determined to ensure this is the best prepared RPT yet and this first ever training camp for the RPT has ensured our team is as ready as possible thanks to the incredible hospitality of our hosts,” Mharakurwa said.
“I’m really proud of how quickly the athletes have come together. On paper, we thought this might be a challenge bearing in mind the diversity of the team and the differences in language and culture. In reality however, they have built relationships and shown support for each other from day one, united by the fact that at Paris 2024 they are part of something much bigger than themselves.”
The team of eight athletes and two guide runners is the largest Refugee Paralympic Team in history - will compete in six different sports and boasts a wealth of experience. Four of the athletes have competed at previous Paralympic Games, including Para triathlete Ibrahim Al Hussein.
“I feel like we are much more than a team, we are a family,” said Al Hussein. “It’s incredible to see how much we have in common because of the difficult journeys we’ve all gone through. It’s like with our common struggles, we’ve known each other all our lives.”
“We are all proud to be members of the Refugee Paralympic Team and representing not just ourselves but the 120 million displaced people from around the world and the more than one billion people with disabilities,” he added.
One of the special moments of the training camp took place on 18 August with a celebration of the team including local dignitaries and school children from Reims. The children presented each with a personal message of support and special drawings where they highlighted how inspired they were by the athletes and their stories.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the team members couldn’t stop smiling in photos with the children, wearing their Asics team uniform for the first time. Asics is the official kit supplier of the Refugee Paralympic Team.
The official sportswear features a design of “Yagasuri,” that represents determination and strength, and incorporates the IPC symbol mark colours of red, blue and green. The material used is lightweight with excellent water absorption and quick drying properties.
“It’s an honour to receive this uniform, I am so excited to wear it in Paris on the biggest stage of all. Sport changed my life – I can’t imagine my life without it. Being part of this Refugee Paralympic Team and going to the Paralympics is a dream come true,” said Wheelchair fencer Amelio Castro Grueso who will be competing in his first Paralympics.
The Refugee Paralympic Team will be hard to miss as they are the first team to march into the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony at Place de la Concorde on 28 August.
On the opening day of competition, Zakia Khudadadi, who won the 2023 European Taekwondo Championship in the 47kg category, will be the first team member to compete hoping to land the team’s first ever podium place.
“It would be a dream come true to be the first to ever win a medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team,” said Khudadadi who has been based in Paris since 2021.
“If that happens, I know how much inspiration and hope that would give to millions of people around the world, especially women and girls. It will show them that no matter how difficult the struggles they face, they should never give up.”
