James Nyang Chiengjiek (born March 2, 1992) is a runner originally from

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

, but now living and training in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. He was selected by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) to compete for the

Refugee Olympic Team The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a s ...

(ROT) at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He placed last in his 400 m heat. He was also qualified to the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

ROT, and placed last in his 800 m heat after tripping due to a fellow competitor's involuntary touch.

Personal life

Chiengjiek is originally from Bentiu,

. In 1999 his father, who was a soldier, was killed during the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated ...

. At the age of 13 Chiengjiek left South Sudan and escaped to Kenya as a refugee to avoid being recruited by rebels as a child soldier. In 2002 he ended up at the Kakuma refugee camp. The

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR) officially granted him refugee status in December 2014.

Athletics career

He began running whilst attending school in Kenya; joining a group of older children from a town in the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

known for its long-distance runners who were training for events. He often had to train without shoes which resulted in him getting injured frequently. In 2013 he was selected to join a group of athletes in the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, a support program for refugees from the Kakuma camp run by former marathon world record holder

Tegla Loroupe Tegla Chepkite Loroupe (born 9 December 1979) is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is also a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometers and previously ...

. These athletes were identified by the IOC as having the potential to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics. On 3 June 2016 the IOC announced that Chiengjiek would be part of a team of ten athletes selected to compete for the

at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chiengjiek qualified for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and competed in the 800m, placing last after being touched and falling.

Competitions

References

External links

Article about Chiengjiek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiengjiek, James 1992 births Living people South Sudanese male sprinters South Sudanese refugees Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics People from Unity (state) Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics South Sudanese expatriate sportspeople in Kenya Refugees in Kenya