For the second consecutive Olympic Games, performances by the Refugee Olympic Team were a source of inspiration for tens of millions of displaced persons from around the world, and their stories resonated with millions more.

Seven refugee athletes will compete in athletics at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, part of a squad of 29 announced today (8) by the International Olympic Committee.

Like most athletes, members of the Athlete Refugee Team had big plans for 2020. For some, it was to earn a spot on the small squad bound for the World Indoor Championships. For others, to race at the World Half Marathon Championships. And for others still, an appearance at the Olympic Games, on the biggest stage of all.

Nine years ago, Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed spent three days crossing the Sinai Desert on foot from Egypt to Israel, the tail end of a treacherous journey from his home in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region. Since then, he’s worked his way onto a doorstep that could lead him to next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

A squad of six athletes represented the Athlete Refugee Team at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, its biggest team to date at a World Athletics Series event, and quality-wise, its best.

Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed knows more than most about crossing difficult terrain.