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04050301 CHRIST THE REDEEMER Members of the Refugee Olympic Team including Paulo Amotun (centre) and Yiech Biel (right) enjoy a visit to Rio’s famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. Amotun and Biel were both forced to fl ee their homes in southern Sudan due to the civil war that tore the country apart, before fi nding their way to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, home to more than 179,000 displaced people.02 YUSRA MARDINIYusra Mardini surges to victory in her heat of the women’s 100m butterfl y, drawing huge cheers from the crowd at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Less than a year earlier, the 18-year-old had fl ed her home in Damascus to escape the Syrian confl ict. On her journey to Europe, she helped save the lives of 20 other migrants when the boat they were travelling in began sinking in the Aegean Sea. Few of the others could swim, so Yusra and her sister jumped into the water and swam for three hours, dragging the boat towards the shore. “I want to tell everyone that ‘refugee’ is not a bad word,” she said. “We’re still humans; we can do a lot of good things to show everyone that we are. My message is just, ‘Never give up’.”03 YOLANDE BUKASA MABIKAYolande Bukasa Mabika grapples with Israel’s Linda Bolder in the fi rst round of the women’s -70kg judo event. Mabika, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has lived in Rio since claiming asylum in 2013. During the Second Congo War she was separated from her parents and taken to a children’s home in the capital Kinshasa, where she took up judo. “I’m representing many nations and my victory is a victory for all refugees in the world,” the 28-year-old said. “I lost, but I’m here. The fi ght did not end today. The fi ght is not only judo, the fi ght is life.”04 ROSE LOKONYENRose Lokonyen competes in the heats of the women’s 800m. The 21-year-old used to run barefoot through the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, which has been her home for 13 years since she fl ed from southern Sudan. She only began running in shoes after she fi nished second in a 10km event that was held in the camp by the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation in 2015.05 OLYMPIC VILLAGELokonyen (right) enjoys a game of dominoes with fellow team members as they relax in the Olympic Village.REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAMOLYMPIC REVIEW 47