‘I want to be a hope, a light in the tunnel for millions of people’

The shooter was one of the 37 athletes, IOC President Thomas Bach named this year as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris Games 2024.

The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is representing more than 100 million forcibly displaced people around the world. The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is made up of 37 athletes – 24 men and 13 women – and will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling at the Games.

Supported through the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Programme, Centeno Nieves will be competing in the 10-metre air pistol event in the Paris 2024 shooting competition.

Centeno Nieves said his selection for the Olympic Games did not only represent a personal achievement but also served as a symbol of hope to others like him fleeing dire and life-threatening events in their lives.

“Now that I represent this beautiful cause I want to be a hope, a light in the tunnel for millions of people who are going through situations as complicated as refugees,” he said.

“We have to represent this with great responsibility, and it is something that goes beyond sport. It is a super big commitment that I feel and that I have.”