34 minutes agoBoxer Cindy Damba é first refugee team athlete to win medals at the Paris Olympics
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)Camerunese boxer Cindy Ngmba on Sunday became the first athlete at the Refugees Olympic Team to win a medal at the Paris Games, offering hope for a team set up to draw attention to the situation of refugees worldwide. Ngamba's victory comes after a severe confrontation with the boxer [...]
Ngamba's victory comes after a severe confrontation with French boxer Davina Michel in the women's middleweight quarterfinals.
The victory means it has at least scored a bronze medal as it passes into the semifinals, the AP writes.
The leg was a flag bearer for 37 athletes who made up the largest Olympic refugee team since the idea was born before the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Ngamba, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, moved to the United Kingdom at 11 years of age and said she was granted refugee status in 2021 because in Cameroon she could have been imprisoned for homosexuality.
She said boxing was her flight from chaos and set it up on the international stage. While some of the team athletes have already won Olympic medals for their seats in the past Games, Damba is seen as the team's best medal chance in Paris.
The refugee team has had some profile in the Paris Games, being among the first Olympic delegations to sail along the Seine River at opening ceremonies last week, the AP writes.
