As the first athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team to earn an Olympic medal, boxing champion Cindy Ngamba made history on Sunday. In the 75kg class, Ngamba overcame Davina Michel of France to get to the boxing semifinals. She would go down in history as the athlete who guarantees a bronze medal even after losing in the semifinals. Ngamba, though, has even bigger goals in mind. “Hopefully, in my next fight, I can win a medal,” she remarked. I see great meaning in it.”
The 25-year-old athlete is from Cameroon, a country where it is illegal to be gay. Her sexual orientation led to the granting of refugee status. “I could have been imprisoned if I was sent back because it is illegal for me to be gay in my country,” Ngamba had previously said. At the age of eleven, she relocated to the United Kingdom, where she presently resides.
117.3 million people are forcefully displaced globally, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Having debuted at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Refugee Olympic Team is a relatively new organization. The squad, according to President Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee, “sends a powerful message about the enrichment refugees bring to our Olympic community and society at large.” Thirty-seven athletes, representing 12 disciplines including judo, taekwondo, and breaking, make up the largest squad yet for Paris 2024.
While a few members of the Refugee Olympic Team have medaled in past Olympics as representatives of their nations, Ngamba is the first to do so for the team.
She will play her next match on August 8 against Atheyna Bylon of Panama.
Ngamba sent out a message to all refugees worldwide, saying, “You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Keep believing in yourself.”
