[ad_1]
A World judo championship bronze medalist from Cuba who returned to the sport after moving to America. The son of a pioneer in the groundbreaking new Olympic sport who arrived in the United States after an arduous journey through the desert. Basketball players and track and field athletes who came to the United States for college and professional sports who decided to represent their new country internationally.
Many of the 594 athletes called to the US Olympic team this summer are immigrants or the children of immigrants, all of whom have chosen to represent a country that is in a movement that would have limited their ability to arrive or stay, even through legal .
An analysis by George Mason University’s Institute for Immigration Research found that 3.7% of athletes on this year’s US Olympic team are foreign-born, while more than 7% are children of immigrants or second-generation immigrants.
Some athletes came to the United States specifically for sports and then became citizens. It’s a common path in track and field – Leonard Korir is one of the many distance runners from Africa who came to the United States for college and ended up representing their new country. In the case of Korir, his national service is not limited to the track; he also has joined the US Army.
But even in a sport like basketball, long dominated by American athletes, immigrants can pop up on the list. Joel Embiid was born and raised in Cameroon before coming to the United States as a high school student to pursue a basketball career.
Other foreign-born athletes have joined Team USA for a myriad of reasons, from athletic opportunities to harrowing escapes from dangerous situations in their native countries:
Abdihamid Nur (track and field): The distance runner was born in Somalia, but his family did not stay much longer after his birth. They escaped to Kenya, then lived a few years in Egypt before coming to the United States.
Maria Laborde (judo): Many American sports have athletes who left Cuba in search of greater opportunities in life and sports, and judo is no exception. Laborde won a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships while competing for Cuba. But in another contest later that year in Mexico, Laborde left the Cuban delegation and he sought asylumgiving up a likely spot in the 2016 Olympics with everything he knew from home.
Weini Kelati (athletics): Oregon’s Hayward Field is a legendary track and field venue and one that will always hold special meaning for Kelati. After representing Eritrea at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Hayward, Kelati he sought asylum. He moved to Virginia, earned a scholarship to the University of New Mexico and earned his citizenship just before the 2021 Olympic trials – held at Hayward Field. He didn’t make the team that year, but returned to Hayward for this year’s tryouts and wins a thrilling 10,000m race in which the lead changed hands several times in the final round.
Steffen Peters (equestrian): When the dressage specialist was unable to get her citizenship processed in time to compete for the United States in the 1992 Olympics, US team official Fiona Baan came up with what, in retrospect , is one of the estimates of the 20th century, saying. the Los Angeles Times, “He’s a young man and I’m sure we’ll see him in the future.” This summer, Peters competed in his sixth Olympics at the age of 59.
Beiwen Zhang (badminton): Born in China and also represents Singapore internationally before moving to the United States and continuing a career in which she has been ranked in the top 10 in the world several times in recent years.
after the newsletter promotion
The parents of some athletes came to the United States as refugees
Naomi Girma (football), Ethiopia: In 1977, a repressive regime took control of Ethiopia, which spawned civil war and famine. Girma Aweke, a teenager at the time, joined an underground opposition movement until conditions deteriorate so bad that he ran away, at one point they rely on a family of foreigners who took care of him while he suffered from malaria, and finally made it to Sudan, where he was selected for a resettlement program that took him to San Francisco. She worked in restaurants, went to college and married a fellow Ethiopian. His daughter, Naomi Girmahe inherited from his father love of football and has become one of the most reliable central defenders in the game. She was ranked 36th among The Guardian’s most recent list of the 100 best female footballers in the world.
Yared Nuguse (Track and Field), Ethiopia: Alem Nuguse was a teacher in Ethiopia in the early 80s until he was imprisoned. After his release, he followed a path similar to that of Girma Aweke, going to Sudan and going to the United States, where he married someone from the same region of Ethiopia. His son, Yared, went to Tokyo in 2021, but he had withdraw from the Games with a quad strain. Returning again as a medal contender, currently ranked second in the world at 1500 m.
Victor Montalvo (breaking), Mexico: Victor and Hector Bermudez were prominent breakdancers in Mexico who escaped poverty and gang violence from walking through the Chihuahua desert. A few years later, after they settled in the United States, they showed their children a few moves. Victor’s son, Victor Montalvo, was so inspired that he became one of the best in the world, winning. the 2002 World Games competition and the 2023 world championship.
Lilia Vu (golf), Vietnam: Vu’s grandfather, Dinh Du, spent months building a makeshift boat get his family and dozens more outside Vietnam. As the boat began to leak, Du’s flares attracted the attention of a US Navy ship that rescued everyone on board.
