Olympia

Austrian canoeist in the Refugee Team!

Saman Soltani

(Bild: instagram.com/samansoltaniii)

Iranian canoeist Saman Soltani, who lives and trains in Austria, will be competing in the IOC's "Refugee Team" in the flat water sprint at the Summer Olympics in Paris! The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the names of the 36-strong squad on Thursday; the athletes come from eleven countries. The team is made up of 23 men and 13 women, competing in a total of twelve sports. 

"When my name was read out and I saw that I was really going to be there, a lot of stones fell from my shoulders. I can't really describe the feeling right now, I'm just relieved and simply happy," said Soltani after the team announcement and added: "My parents were so incredibly happy and cried with me on the phone - it really gets to you."

Escape led via Spain to Austria
Soltani fled from Tehran to Austria in 2022. She started out as a synchronized swimmer and became Iranian national champion. The athlete later switched to canoeing, as there were more opportunities for competition, and her highlight and first international success was winning the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Her escape led the 27-year-old to Austria via Spain.

An athlete living in Austria was also part of the Refugee Team at the 2021 Tokyo Games, namely the Iraqi wrestler Aker Al Obaidi. He is now called Aker Schmid, has become an Austrian and, as such, tried to qualify for the Paris Games. A week ago, however, the 24-year-old had to withdraw from the last qualifying opportunity - scheduled for next week in Istanbul - due to injury.

"A message of hope!"
"This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world. At the same time, you will draw the attention of billions of people around the world to the scale of the refugee crisis," said IOC President Thomas Bach when nominating the team. After Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021, this is the third time that an IOC refugee team has taken part in the Summer Games. For the first time, the selection will not be competing under the Olympic flag in Paris, but with its own emblem bearing a heart in the middle.

According to the IOC, all 36 Olympic participants - a record number for a "Refugee Team" - have refugee status in their host country, which has also been confirmed by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).