“Even I am the captain of this team.”
This sign off by 16-year-old Clement Niyomunoza was met with cheers and applause from his teammates on the Refugee Youth Olympics team, which is holding their high-altitude training camp at Complete Sport Complex in Kaptagat, Kenya’s Rift Valley.
For a teenager who fled Burundi in 2015 and grew up in Kakuma as a refugee with no identity, that declaration was an assertion of leadership.
Niyomunoza was introducing himself to officials from the IOC, World Athletics, National Olympic Committees, UNHCR and Athletics Kenya during the official team presentation.
The 800 metres runner has a small physique, but he is confident and present, qualities instantaneously picked by Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge – the global Ambassador of the Dakar Youth Olympic Games.
“The captain is sharp, a good boy. He deserves to lead the team; the future is bright,” Kipchoge told Olympics.com.
In 50 days, he will lead five other athletes towards a breakthrough that goes beyond sport. Alongside athletes Rashid Rochene, Florence Masumbi and Nyataba Kuek in athletics, taekwondo’s Lourance Namukiza and judo‘s Arno Yafunga the six will be the first-ever Refugee Team to compete at the Youth Olympics.
This will also be the first Olympic Games to be held in Africa.
“How can you get scared of a big opportunity like this? The first Youth Olympics in Dakar, I’m so happy. I am not scared of people” Clement told Olympics.com from the team’s training base in Kaptagat.
Yiech Pur Biel, a 2016 Refugee Olympian and Dakar Chef de Mission, stated: “They don’t need to be forgotten. These young people have talent; they need that platform to showcase their talent.”
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/dakar-2026/news/dakar-2026-refugee-athlete-clement-niyomunoza-exclusive
