Almost half of the athletes selected for the 2024 Refugee Olympic Team will be from Iran, as announced by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the announcement of the athlete lineup for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Of the 36 players selected from 11 countries, 14 (almost 40%) are Iranian.
The team's significant presence of Iranian refugees comes as anti-regime protests and growing economic and political pressures have spurred a surge in migration of athletes, artists and skilled workers from Iran in recent years. This is in response to the fact that
The 14 Iranian athletes, consisting of 10 men and 4 women, include boxer Omid Ahmadisafa (Germany), swimmer Martin Barsini (Great Britain), and judo athlete Mahboubeh Barbari Jafi (Germany). They have found new bases across Europe, including some high-profile players.
The mass defection comes after at least 30 Iranian athletes have sought asylum in recent years, not only to escape political repression within Iran, but also to escape specific challenges in the field of sports. be.
Issues cited by athletes include corruption within sports federations, coercive policies that prohibit competition with Israeli athletes, and, for women, the requirement to wear a hijab while competing.
The Islamic Republic's policy of barring Olympic athletes from competing against Israelis stems from longstanding hostility towards the country since 1979.
Athletes faced pressure from government-controlled sports federation officials to intentionally lose matches, be disqualified, or cite injuries to avoid matches against Israeli opponents. is common.
