“This country saved me”: refugee Farida Abaroge enjoys her lap of honor at the Stade de France
The 1,500m runner lives in France after leaving Ethiopia
Abaroge says refugee team ‘like family‘

It was a joy no one had ever heard before,as Farida Abaroge gracefully sprinted across the finish line in her women’s 1,500 meters on Tuesday, every single one of the 80,000 spectators here in one of Europe’s largest stadiums erupted in loud cheers and roars.

Ethiopian runner Farida Abaroge, who will compete in the 1500 meters Paris Olympics 

“There were so many people, the noise was heavy in my ears, which accompanied every movement of my feet,” he said. “It was my first experience at the Stade de France. It’s incredible that I did this race here in France, the country that saved my life. The place where I live now. I want to thank everyone who made this dream come true.

Abaroge, 30, is part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refugee team, which represents more than 100 million displaced people. When she walked the runway alongside big names like Kenyan Nelly Chepchirchir and American Elle Purrier St Pierre, it was the first time she had set foot in such a big stadium.

Paris Olympic

When Abaroge fled his native Ethiopia eight years ago because of persecution, he was a black belt in karate, a soccer player and an aspiring track runner and dreamed of one day competing in the Games, but couldn’t see how. Her search for salvation lasted more than a year, taking her to Sudan, an Egyptian refugee camp, Libya, where she was imprisoned, and finally to France in 2017, where she was granted asylum.
Physically devastated by hardship, lack of food and a stomach operation gone wrong on the way, Abaroge made a surprising return to sport, taking up athletics to make the 37-strong team compete in 12 sports in Paris.

The Abaroge is today a symbol in France of sporting success in the face of adversity. She remembers that when she arrived in Alsace eight years ago, she didn’t have a pair of sneakers. He credited the local municipality team of Thal-Marmoutier, the village where he first moved, for helping him start his running career by taking him to a sports shop to buy shoes. “When I first came to France, they asked me what my passion in life was,” she says. “I responded to sports. They took me to a store to buy sneakers and equipment and I started running.”

He combined two daily training sessions in Strasbourg with his full-time job in a warehouse. The IOC’s support allowed him to take two months off without pay to attend the Games. “The staff is all supportive,” he said. Before receiving the support of the refugee team, he had always worried about balancing the training with the ability to keep his job and pay the rent.
Alone in France without family, Aborage describes the refugee team as “like a family”. Her motto is simple: “I won’t give up after everything I’ve been through.” She said of her first Olympic 1500m race: “I’m not used to such a big stadium, I’ve never competed in such a competition great, with all this noise.
“The other athletes started slowly, then they accelerated, I’m not used to it because in my regional competitions I’m always the one in front.
In the back of the pack, she says that she went to the finish line with the rapturous cheers of the crowd that filled her head, inspiring her to achieve her best time of the season. “When I finished, I was really proud. I had a lot of energy, there was a lot of emotion.
“I didn’t even know it was the end. I wanted to keep going, keep running, but I noticed that everyone around me had stopped, so I stopped too. I felt like I had just run, like I had just run. »

Abaroge said he felt fit mentally and physically and was looking forward to running again on Wednesday in the 1,500m rematch. “I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved.”