Two teenage sprinters who fled instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are preparing to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, marking the first time refugee athletes will participate in the event.
Florence Masumbe, 16, and Rachid Rochene, who now live in Uganda, are among six refugee athletes selected to compete at the Games, scheduled for October 31 to November 13 across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly. The team will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo.
For the young athletes, the competition represents an opportunity to pursue their sporting ambitions, gain international experience and potentially access educational opportunities through athletics.
Rochene, a 200-metre sprinter, said competing internationally had been a childhood ambition.
“I feel good, I feel so wonderful. You know, this was a dream since I was young,” he said, expressing hopes of winning medals and possibly setting a world record.
Masumbe, who has spent much of her life in Uganda’s Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, hopes her participation will open doors to education and a better future for her family.
“I know if I continue with athletics, it will transform my life and I can get a good school,” she said, adding that she hoped her journey would inspire other refugee children to pursue their ambitions.
Sport creates new opportunities
The athletes’ selection followed years of work by the Olympic Refuge Foundation and its partners in Uganda to use sport to improve the wellbeing of displaced young people and members of host communities.
Their talents were identified through Game Connect, a six-year initiative that uses sport to support mental health, social inclusion and personal development among young people affected by displacement.
Brandon Katura, coordinator of the initiative, said the programme had helped the athletes develop new ambitions, including competing internationally and pursuing educational scholarships.
He said the young people had progressed from participating in informal running activities to preparing for a major international sporting event.
The International Olympic Committee and its partners in Uganda have contributed nearly $10,000 over the past year to support Masumbe and Rochene’s preparation, helping cover the resources required for their participation.
The six-member Youth Refugee Olympic Team includes athletes based in Uganda and Kenya. The initiative is supported by the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Refuge Foundation, World Athletics, the United Nations refugee agency, and the national Olympic committees of Kenya and Uganda. Four of the athletes will compete in athletics, alongside representatives in judo and taekwondo.
A milestone for refugee sport
The participation of refugee athletes at Dakar 2026 extends the Olympic movement’s efforts to provide competitive opportunities for people forced to flee their homes.
The International Olympic Committee established the Refugee Olympic Team for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Its participation at the Youth Olympic Games will provide a platform for younger athletes affected by displacement to demonstrate their abilities on the international stage.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that more than 117 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced by the end of 2025, including millions across sub-Saharan Africa.
For Masumbe and Rochene, the immediate challenge is to perform on the track in Dakar. Their participation, however, also highlights how access to training, mentorship and educational support can help young refugees build opportunities beyond displacement.
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