奥运史上首现难民代表团

At Friday's opening ceremony in Rio, the refugee team will be represented as all other teams are.

They will have their own uniforms and carry the Olympic flag.

The ten members of the team were selected by the International Olympic Committee from 43 candidates.

Syrian swimmer Rami Anis will compete in the men's 100m freestyle and butterfly.

"I think that the refugee athletes' team will show people that it doesn't know despair, that it has an iron will. We are sad because of wars in our countries but that doesn't kill our spirits. I have said to myself many times 'Don't despair", 'Don't give up, you will get there'. I hope that all the refugee athletes don't despair, and I hope the IOC will support other refugee athletes. "

Judoka Popole Misenga is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Decades of conflict in his country took everything away from him, including his mother.

Fleeing his home at just 9 years old, he hid in a forest for days before he was rescued.

Misenga says practicing judo has given him faith. He is now hoping his presence at the Olympics will make his family proud and may even lead to a reunion.

"It's been many years since I have seen my family, my two brothers. I don't even know what my younger brother would look like, but the older one I would recognize. I send many hugs and kisses to him and all of them. To my brothers I say - I am here, in Brazil, I'm participating and I thank God for the Olympics."

For 18-year-old Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini, competing at Rio is a world away from her life of just one year ago, when she had to literally swim for her life in the freezing Aegean Sea.

Now based in Germany, Mardini and her sister fled their home in Damascus. After staying at refugee camps in Lebanon, they, like many others, decided to make the dangerous sea crossing to Greece.

After their dinghy started to sink, she and some others jumped into the water and pushed the boat towards the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos.

"For the refugees in Brazil, and all the refugees around the world, we are going to represent you guys in a really good picture and I hope you are going to learn from our story that you have to move on because life will never stop with your problems and I hope that everyone will continue to achieve their dreams."

The team's Chef de Mission is Tegla Loroupe, a former long distance runner from Kenya. She has praised IOC President Thomas Bach for his work in helping to create the team.

"One thing, I want to thank Dr Thomas Bach for that humanity. For many years there have been refugees and the Olympics have been there. But nobody thought that someone with that refugee status can be given that opportunity. When Thomas Bach became president he realized that he needed to help somebody with that status and for me to see these people it makes sense."

The remaining athletes on the team include five from South Sudan, where unrest in the world's newest nation has created an estimated 850-thousand asylum seekers.

Ethiopian runner Yonas Kinde will compete in the men's marathon.

Yolande Bukasa Mabika from Congo will participate in the women's 70 kilogram contest.

The costs born by the athletes as they prepared and qualified for the Rio games were covered by the IOC.