Fifteen-year-old Arnold Ayenfaga stepped onto the judo mat at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, where he finished fifth in the men’s 55kg category after reaching the bronze-medal match.

From the Kakuma refugee camp to the international stage

Arnold’s path to the competition ran from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where his family settled in 2017 after fleeing eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo due to conflict. His father, Arnold Ayenfaga, a former judo competitor who abandoned his own Olympic ambitions to support his family, resumed his training to coach his son. “He has tried his best, and in judo, when you fall down, you must get back up,” Arnold Ayenfaga said of his son’s performance.

Clement Niyomwhoza leads the six-athlete youth delegation

Six athletes, split evenly between three men and three women, make up the youth refugee delegation competing in athletics, judo, and taekwondo in Dakar. “Some people think that because we are refugees, we have no talent and no ability to participate in sports,” Niyomwhoza said, noting that the athletes aim to prove what they can achieve despite their circumstances.

Yiech Pur Biel reflects on a decade of refugee representation

The refugee team’s presence at the Youth Olympic Games marks a continuation of a movement that began at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where the International Olympic Committee first introduced a refugee squad featuring South Sudanese runner Yiech Pur Biel. A decade later, Pur Biel serves as the head of the Dakar youth delegation. “We all come from countries torn apart by war, we have all suffered setbacks, and we have all experienced trauma,” Pur Biel said, adding that sport provides a safe environment and a chance to move beyond labels.

Pur Biel confirmed that the foundation's backing extends beyond the Dakar events, with ongoing support planned for the upcoming Los Angeles and Brisbane Olympic Games.