Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Zada ‘proud’ to be a voice for refugees at Olympics
- The 28-year-old has transferred seamlessly from competing at the Tokyo Games to her role as ‘spokesperson for 120 million displaced people’
Masomah Ali Zada is “proud” to represent “all those who have been forced to flee their country” in her role as chef de mission of the Refugee team at the Paris Olympics.
The 28-year-old Afghan has transferred seamlessly from Olympic cyclist for the Refugee team at the Tokyo 2020 Games to a managerial role and will be “the spokesperson for the 120 million displaced people round the world”.
Masomah will be in charge of 36 athletes hailing from 11 countries and competing across 12 sports at the Games, which run from July 26 to August 11.
“It fills me with great ride and is an immense honour to represent, along with this unique and special team, those people who have been obliged to flee their country,” Masomah told AFP, speaking in French in a round of interviews at the Paris Games organisers’ headquarters to commemorate United Nations Refugees Day.
Masomah has achieved a lot in the eight years since she arrived in France, gaining the right of asylum after being refused a visa in her first application, and she recently obtained her masters in civil engineering at Lille University.
