Refugees-only team assembled for Summer Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 3 (UPI) -- A team of Refugee Olympic Athletes will be assembled to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said Thursday.

Up to 10 athletes, from a pool of 43 already chosen, will be selected. They will be a part of the opening ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro, marching into the stadium under the Olympic flag, and will participate as a team, irrespective of nationality.

"We have all been touched by the magnitude of this refugee crisis. By welcoming ROA to the Olympic Games in Rio, we want to send a message of hope to all the refugees of the world. This team will be treated like all the other teams," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

The team will be housed in the Olympic Village of athlete residences and will have an IOC-assigned entourage to meet their needs and confirm their responsibilities.

One athlete in contention for the team is Yolande Makibe, a jodoka (practitioner of judo) who found asylum in Brazil after leaving the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, CNN reported.

"I cannot fight for my country. I will fight for the Olympics, I will fight for all the refugees in the world. Judo is my life. It helped me escape war, to take another path," she said.

The invitation to refugees is part of a $2 million fund established by the IOC to develop relief projects through sport, in conjunction with national Olympic organizing committees.