Nike Welcomes Its First Refugee Athlete With Olympics Around The Corner

Video screenshot via Nike

Refugee athletes are punching above their weight in Nike's latest campaign, which strikes a powerful chord ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In conjunction with the Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF), the sportswear giant’s Watch Where We’re Going shines a spotlight on the resilience and determination of refugee athletes who have jumped through countless hoops to get to where they are today.

The compelling short film, created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, opens with Cindy Ngamba, a remarkable boxer and the first member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Refugee Olympic Team to join Nike’s roster. “You ask me where I’m really from; I’ll tell you where I’m really from,” she proclaims in the video.

Ngamba’s journey from Cameroon, where she left at the age of 11, to becoming a three-time national boxing champion and coach in the UK, epitomizes the strength and determination of fellow refugee trailblazers worldwide. 

Image via Nike

The spot also highlights three other prominent members of the Refugee Olympic Team: judoka Mohammad Rashnonezhad, cyclist Eyeru Gebru, and 800-meter runner Perina Lokure Nakang. Each athlete proudly asserts their identity through their sport, shifting from origin to present identity, with Ngamba stating, “I’m from the ring,” and Gebru declaring, “I’m from the track.”

Instead of defining them by their past hardships, the endeavor focuses on their inner power and accomplishments, while highlighting a sense of belonging through sport. The campaign not only seeks to reshape perceptions but also showcases an ongoing support by Nike, including its role as the official kit supplier for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and its support for the Terrains d’Avenir program in Paris, which aims to increase sports access for women and girls.

The initiative dismantles the tendency to define these competitors solely by their past experiences of displacement, instead shifting the focus to exceptional athleticism and an unwavering spirit that transcends borders.

“Being refugee athletes, we are like any other athlete. The only difference is that we have a different paper or different citizenship,” Ngamba underscores.

Image via Nike

“The moment I realized boxing can change my life is when I first stepped inside a boxing ring,” the boxer continues. “I felt overwhelmed and at the same time excited; that was the moment when I realised I was made for this.”

Image via Nike

[via The Inspiration and Creative Review, images via Nike]