From Kabul to the Olympics: A Refugee's Quest for Gold.

Multi Sports Paris 2024 Olympics

Posted 2 months ago

From Kabul to the Olympics: A Refugee's Quest for Gold.

Dressed in traditional white robes, a patterned tunic, and a black face mask, Farzad Mansouri proudly carried the Afghan flag into Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.

As he walked into Tokyo's Olympic Stadium in front of empty stands but a global television audience, Farzad Mansouri had no idea that a few weeks later, he would be fleeing the country he was representing in taekwondo.

The teenager couldn't foresee the desperate scenes at Kabul airport, where he and tens of thousands of others tried to board evacuation flights to escape the Taliban.

He did not know he would mourn the death of a teammate in a suicide bomb attack.

Nor could he have imagined spending months living with five family members in a single room in a refugee camp in Abu Dhabi before heading to the UK alone.

“When I left my country and my house, the only clothing I had was my Olympic kit," he told BBC Sport.

"My only goal was the Olympic Games. I said I will carry on any way I can so I can go to Paris.”

After makeshift training in the refugee camp, not seeing his parents for over two years, and missing many competitions due to visa issues, Mansouri has succeeded.

Now 22, he will compete under a different flag in Paris. When the athletes sail down the River Seine in July's opening ceremony, Mansouri will be beneath a banner bearing the Olympic rings.

He has been selected for the International Olympic Committee's Refugee Olympic Team, driven by the home he left behind and supported by the new one that welcomed him.