Arno Yafunga Botay, 15, is competing in the under-55kg judo category for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. He earned his place through trials in East Africa. "I didn't expect to be selected," he told BBC Sport Africa. This is the first time a refugee team has competed at a Youth Games.
His family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2017, when he was six. Threats to his father's life ended in an attack on their home. His seven-month-old sibling was killed. The family lived in Kakuma refugee camp in north-west Kenya before moving to Nairobi.
In Nairobi, Arno used to watch his father, Arnold, practise judo before Arnold went out to work as a labourer. Arno asked his father to teach him and started learning the sport at seven. Arnold still coaches him. His brother Christian, now 17, sometimes spars with him. Arno has trained at a dojo in the Kenyan capital since 2020.
Life in Kenya has been hard. Arno told the BBC he had no judogi and no money for transport to local competitions. He said the family often cannot pay school fees because his father has no work. He also said refugees need documents to stay in Kenya and get little support. He credited the International Olympic Committee's refugee programme with helping refugees chase their dreams.
Eliud Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic marathon champion, mentors the six-member team in Senegal. Arno said Kipchoge taught them to respect the coach and stay focused. He said he had promised Kipchoge he would bring the gold medal home. His father said the team sends a message of hope to displaced people around the world.
Lawrence Karisa Nyundo, who owns the dojo, told the BBC that Arno's selection had "changed perceptions" of judo in the community. He said parents had called him asking to enrol their children. Arno said he hopes to pass on what he learns to other refugees.
The IOC created the Refugee Olympic Team for the Rio 2016 Olympics. Cameroon-born boxer Cindy Ngamba won its first medal, a bronze in the women's 75kg category at Paris 2024. The Dakar Games opened on Saturday, October 31. They are the first Olympic event ever held in Africa. Judo events run from November 1 to 3.