Afghan cyclist becomes 1st refugee athlete on Olympic Athletes’ Commission

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Zada became the first refugee athlete to join the Athletes’ Commission on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the group said Wednesday.

"Olympians Allyson Felix, Alistair Brownlee, Oluseyi Smith and Masomah Ali Zada have joined the Athletes’ Commission (AC) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to help represent the athlete voice within the Olympic Movement,” it said in a statement.

“One of them, cyclist Masomah Ali Zada who was born in Afghanistan, is the first refugee athlete on any IOC commission.”

IOC President Thomas Bach welcomed the four newest members of the Commission.

"Athletes are at the very heart of the Olympic Movement, and it is therefore essential that their voices are heard within the IOC," he said.

Zada, 26, was one of 29 refugee athletes selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.

She will serve eight years as a member of the Commission which consists of 14 women and nine men.

Zada was granted asylum in France in 2017 and is studying civil engineering at a university in Lille.