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IOC approves refugee team for Tokyo Olympics

Opening Ceremony Rio 2016 Olympic Games

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 05: Flag bearer Rose Lokonyen Nathike of the Refugee Olympic Team leads her team during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Maracana Stadium on August 5, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

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A refugee Olympic team will appear at a second straight Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

“The initiative is a continuation of the IOC’s commitment to play its part in addressing the global refugee crisis and another opportunity to continue to convey the message of solidarity and hope to millions of refugee and internally displaced athletes,” according to an IOC press release.

Team members will be named in 2020.

The first Olympic refugee team competed in Rio, with 10 athletes in three sports from South Sudan, Syria, Congo and Ethiopia.

They marched in the Opening Ceremony under the Olympic flag and entered the stadium directly before host nation Brazil.

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