holywood model: What It’s Like Going to the Olympics as a Refugee

Making it to the Olympics is one of the most difficult feats in the sports world. For refugee athletes, the journey there is even harder. After fleeing war-torn Syria, swimmer Yusra Mardini defied the odds and competed in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Her inspiring story was chronicled in the 2022 Netflix documentary <I>The Swimmers</I>. After hanging up her swim cap last year, Mardini, 26, has dedicated her life to helping other refugee Olympians as a UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador. <br><br>Ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, she sat down with South Sudan-born track star Perina Lokure Nakang, 21, who is running as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. At the age of seven, Nakang was able to escape violence in her home country with her aunt. They wound up in the northwestern region of Kenya at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, which was established in 1992 during the second Sudanese Civil War. It is

After overcoming more hurdles than anyone should have to navigate in a lifetime, Nakang is now living out her dreams on the world's biggest stage. In Paris, she will be one of 37 athletes on the refugee team competing across 12 sports—and representing more than 120 million forcibly displaced people all across the globe. In their inspiring conversation, published exclusively on ELLE.com, Nakang tells Mardini that she's "excited to be part of a team where everyone has had similar experiences and challenges."" title="Making it to the Olympics is one of the most difficult feats in the sports world. For refugee athletes, the journey there is even harder. After fleeing war-torn Syria, swimmer Yusra Mardini defied the odds and competed in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Her inspiring story was chronicled in the 2022 Netflix documentary The Swimmers. After hanging up her swim cap last year, Mardini, 26, has dedicated her life to helping other refugee Olympians as a UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador.

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, she sat down with South Sudan-born track star Perina Lokure Nakang, 21, who is running as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. At the age of seven, Nakang was able to escape violence in her home country with her aunt. They wound up in the northwestern region of Kenya at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, which was established in 1992 during the second Sudanese Civil War. It is "easy to lose hope" in a refugee camp, Nakang says, but running helped take her mind off of what was happening.

After overcoming more hurdles than anyone should have to navigate in a lifetime, Nakang is now living out her dreams on the world's biggest stage. In Paris, she will be one of 37 athletes on the refugee team competing across 12 sports—and representing more than 120 million forcibly displaced people all across the globe. In their inspiring conversation, published exclusively on ELLE.com, Nakang tells Mardini that she's "excited to be part of a team where everyone has had similar experiences and challenges."">

What It's Like Going to the Olympics as a Refugee

Making it to the Olympics is one of the most difficult feats in the sports world. For refugee athletes, the journey there is even harder. After fleeing war-torn Syria, swimmer Yusra Mardini defied the odds and competed in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Her inspiring story was chronicled in the 2022 Netflix documentary The Swimmers. After hanging up her swim cap last year, Mardini, 26, has dedicated her life to helping other refugee Olympians as a UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency Goodwill Ambassador.

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, she sat down with South Sudan-born track star Perina Lokure Nakang, 21, who is running as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. At the age of seven, Nakang was able to escape violence in her home country with her aunt. They wound up in the northwestern region of Kenya at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, which was established in 1992 during the second Sudanese Civil War. It is "easy to lose hope" in a refugee camp, Nakang says, but running helped take her mind off of what was happening.

After overcoming more hurdles than anyone should have to navigate in a lifetime, Nakang is now living out her dreams on the world's biggest stage. In Paris, she will be one of 37 athletes on the refugee team competing across 12 sports—and representing more than 120 million forcibly displaced people all across the globe. In their inspiring conversation, published exclusively on ELLE.com, Nakang tells Mardini that she's "excited to be part of a team where everyone has had similar experiences and challenges."

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