Afghan sprinter Kimia Yousofi set to compete in her 3rd Olympics after being selected for Paris Games

SYDNEY — Afghan sprinter Kimia Yousofi is preparing to compete in her third Olympic Games after being selected for the Paris Games from her training base in Australia.

Yousofi, Afghanistan’s flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, has lived in Australia since 2022.

The Australian Olympic Committee on Tuesday congratulated Yousofi on her selection for the women’s 100 metres sprint.

“It is an honour to once again represent the girls of my country,” she said in a statement released by the Australian committee. “Girls and women who have been denied basic rights, including education, which is the most important.

“I represent the stolen dreams and aspirations of these women. The ones who don’t have the power to make decisions as free human beings – they don’t even have permission to enter a park.”

She said she was “deeply grateful to everyone who has supported me on this journey and made this possible…who has helped us every step of the way, for coming to Australia and coming together to pursue our dreams and build a new life.”

Yousofi was among the athletes and families who were resettled to Australia, in his case via Iran, after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and imposed severe restrictions on women and girls.

Dozens of other Afghan athletes, including members of the women’s cricket and football teams, have moved to Australia.

AOC CEO Matt Carroll said Yousofi’s story is “an inspiration to women and girls in Afghanistan, and around the world, who are denied basic rights, including the right to freely participate in sport.”

Afghan Olympic Committee President Yonus Popalzay said there would be three women in the team for Paris.

“We are thrilled to have three female athletes for the first time at the Olympic Games,” Popalzay said in a statement. “We are very grateful to the COA for their support of Kimia Yousofi.”

The Afghan National Olympic Committee operates outside Afghanistan to support and encourage athletes.

John Quinn, Yousofi’s Australia-based coach, will travel to the Olympics as head coach of the Afghan athletics team.

He said that when he first started working with Yousofi, they had to communicate through a translation app because they didn’t speak the same language, “so we’ve come a long way in less than two years.”

The Paris Olympics will be “a Games where she’s not really running for herself, but for the women of Afghanistan and she’s showing what’s possible,” Quinn said. “She’s giving them hope. And she’s showing what optimism looks like.”

Quinn said Yousofi had improved significantly on the track technically, but he had also made strides outside of the sporting arena.

“When you consider everything she’s had to juggle – training, a new language, bringing her family here, all those things,” he said, “she’s been incredible.”

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