What does EOR stand for at the Olympics 2024?
Not every athlete is able to compete under their national flag at the Games.
For most athletes around the globe, the Olympic Games represents not only the pinnacle of sporting success, but also the chance to represent their country in front of the world.
But what happens when, due to world conflicts and situations out of their control, some world-class athletes are forced to flee their nation of origin?
With disrupted access to training facilities and the countless other factors which contribute to becoming an Olympian made even more challenging, the participation of these athletes at events like the Olympics is left in limbo.
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Athletes have found themselves in such situations across much of the history of the modern Olympics, with many prevented from realising their dream.
But at the last few Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has worked with bodies such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide a lifeline known as the EOR.
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RadioTimes.com explains what EOR stands for and everything you need to know about refugee athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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What does EOR stand for at the Olympics 2024?
EOR stands for Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés, which is French for the Refugee Olympic Team.
Paris 2024 marks the third appearance of an IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games, following Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Meanwhile, the IOC announced in May that this year’s EOR would be the biggest yet, with 36 athletes from 11 countries representing the world’s displaced population this summer.
The team – whose athletes the IOC said have been hosted by 15 different National Olympic Committees from other countries around the world – will compete in 12 different sports in Paris: athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoe (both slalom and sprint), judo, road cycling, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman).
Its chef de mission in Paris will be Masomah Ali Zada, who competed as a member of the 29-strong IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020, while athletics (seven EOR athletes), judo (six) and taekwondo (five) will be the most represented sports on the EOR in Paris.
Announcing the EOR for Paris 2024, IOC president Thomas Bach said: "We welcome all of you with open arms. You are an enrichment to our Olympic Community, and to our societies.
"With your participation in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential of resilience and excellence. This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world."
The athletes of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024 and their respective sports can be found below.
Several of them – Dorsa Yavarivafa, Cindy Ngamba, Matin Balsini, Farzad Mansouri and Ramiro Mora – currently reside in the UK, where they have been supported by Team GB and national governing bodies in their respective sports.
- Adnan Khankan – judo
- Alaa Maso – swimming
- Amir Ansari – road cycling
- Amir Rezanejad Hassanjani – canoe (slalom)
- Arab Sibghatullah – judo
- Cindy Ngamba – boxing
- Dina Pouryounes Langeroudi – taekwondo
- Dorian Keletela – athletics
- Dorsa Yavarivafa – badminton
- Eyeru Gebru – road cycling
- Farida Abaroge – athletics
- Farzad Mansouri – taekwondo
- Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez – canoe (sprint)
- Francisco Edilio Centeno Nieves – shooting
- Hadi Tiranvalipour – taekwondo
- Iman Mahdavi – wrestling
- Jamal Abdelmaji – athletics
- Jamal Valizadeh – wrestling (Greco-Roman)
- Kasra Mehdipournejad – taekwondo
- Luna Solomon – shooting
- Mahboubeh Barbari Yharfi – judo
- Manizha Talash – breaking
- Matin Balsini – swimming
- Mohammad Amin Alsalami – athletics
- Mohammad Rashnonezhad – judo
- Muna Dahouk – judo
- Musa Suliman – athletics
- Nigara Shaheen – judo
- Omid Ahmadisafa – boxing
- Perina Lokure Nakang – athletics
- Ramiro Mora – weightlifting
- Saeid Fazloula – canoe (sprint)
- Saman Soltani – canoe (sprint)
- Tachlowini Gabriyesos – athletics
- Yahya Al Ghotany – taekwondo
- Yekta Jamali Galeh – weightlifting
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