Initially stemming from an idea by French athlete and sports official Count Jean de Beaumont in the early 1960s, Olympic Solidarity is proving to be an even more essential programme today, assisting National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world as they face the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, while also directly supporting athletes so that they can continue their training, including the Refugee Athlete Scholarship-Holders who will make up the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020 next year.

With sport having given Rio 2016 Refugee Olympic Team athlete Yiech Pur Biel “safety and friendship”, the runner is determined to use his new appointment to ensure that fellow refugees all over the world have a voice and a future.

In August 2015, Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini saved the lives of 20 fellow refugees as they fled war-torn Syria for safety in Europe. Just a year later, she was competing at Rio 2016 as part of the IOC’s first-ever Refugee Olympic Team. Now Mardini and other team members are offering a series of Online Experiences in which they share tips and insights on a diverse range of topics ranging from resilience to Afghan cooking.

Chajen Dang Yien escaped conflict in South Sudan and spent years away from her family in a Kenyan refugee camp. Now she is aiming for a happy future involving journalism and advocacy – as well as the 800m at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Following the inclusion of baseball5 on the event programme of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2022, we take a closer look at this fast-paced and youth-focused urban discipline.