Paris 2024: Cuba raises alarm over an athlete’s participation on Refugee Olympic Team

Last May, the International Olympic Committee made global headlines as it announced that 37 athletes from 11 countries are preparing to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.

First created for the Rio Olympics in 2016, the refugee team is a symbol of hope and brings attention to the plight of more than 100 million forcibly displaced people across the globe. The team demonstrates that refugees are an enrichment to the society.

To be a part of the Refugee Olympic Team, athletes must be elite competitors in their host country, recognised by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Balanced representation in terms of sport, gender and regions are also taken into consideration.

IOC made a mistake of “mixing oil with vinegar”: Cuba

On Tuesday, the Cuban Olympic Committee made a controversial demand. It stressed the need for the “immediate exclusion” of an athlete – included by the organisers as part of the refugee team participating in the Paris Olympic Games.

This is the first time that Cubans are on the refugee team: there is Fernando Dayan Jorge, a canoeist (he grabbed the gold medal in the 1,000-metre canoe sprint into Tokyo 2020), and weightlifter Ramiro Mora (currently living in Great Britain).

Since May, Cuba has been opposing both of them being included on the Olympic Refugee Team and said the IOC made a mistake of “mixing oil with vinegar” as both athletes have not been prosecuted or uprooted and that they made the decision to emigrate.

Fernando Dayan Jorge defines himself as an athlete and athlete only

One of the athletes has made disrespectful and fallacious political statements against his country, his people and the sports that let him become an Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020, read the official statement from the Cuban Olympic Committee on Tuesday.

The statement did not make any mention of the name of the athlete but the canoeist has been very vocal against the Government of Cuba ever since he abandoned his delegation at the time of competing in Mexico to cross the border and settle in the US.

Fernando Dayan Jorge learned canoeing from his father at the ripe age of 10 years. He is currently based in Florida and trains every day in a canal near his residence, supported by his coach Alain. He defines himself as an athlete and athlete only, according to Olympics.com.