UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the Olympic Village in Rio where he met with the refugee Olympic team.

“I know you have had very sad, terrible stories and experiences, but you are a source of inspiration for all of us. Your stories are very sad but, at the same time, you can be a source of hope for many people,” he said. “You have such great athletic talents which had been hidden and just abandoned by the international community. Now you can show your strength, your capacity to run higher, to run faster, and become stronger. You have to show this!”

The team includes ten athletes from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kongo.