Saka summed up Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu won EC gold in the 10,000 meters for Switzerland. Lobalu was born in South Sudan and fled to Kenya when he was nine. He started running and became part of the refugee team of the International Athletics Federation. He was granted asylum in Switzerland and has been granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that Lobalu cannot run for Switzerland in the Summer Olympics because he does not have Swiss citizenship. The IOC has invited Lobalu to represent their own refugee team in the Olympics. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – When the war started, we lost everything. We lost our parents. As a nine-year-old I was forced to flee my country, to Kenya, to try to get a better life, because I was the only boy in my family. Lobalu said so in the documentary “The Right to Race”, which was released last autumn. Lobalu was born in what is now South Sudan, which has been plagued by civil war for several decades. After he came to Kenya, Lobalu started walking. He gradually became part of the refugee team for the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics) and was allowed to participate in the 1500 meters in the World Championships in 2017, aged 18. The chances to compete were rare for Lobalu, but a new chance came in May 2019. Lobalu had the opportunity to go to Geneva in Switzerland, where he ran a 10 kilometer race. He ran in to win, but did not return to the hotel afterwards. – My sisters could not go to school. Everyone looked at me. Their hope was me. They thought I was the only one who could change their lives, Lobalu, who always sends money to the sisters, said in the documentary. Lobalu chose to run away from the refugee team. Instead, he applied for asylum in Switzerland, where he has now been granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds. In 2022, he was also barely allowed to leave the country to compete, before World Athletics on 10 May this year allowed him to represent Switzerland. CLOSE TO INGEBRIGTSEN: Lobalu (right) took bronze in the 5000 metres, behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen (centre) and George Mills (left). Photo: Lise Aaserud / NTB Invited to the refugee team At the first opportunity, in the EC in Rome, it was a great success. Lobalu raced to bronze in the 5,000 meters at the start of the championships, behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen and George Mills, before winning the 10,000 meters on Wednesday after an intense final sprint. When he reached the finish line, he was quick to draw his hand across his chest to mark his love for Switzerland. – Thanks to Switzerland for giving me a chance, Lobalu told news after the gold on Wednesday. NEW HOMELAND: Switzerland has become Lobalus’ home in recent years. Photo: Manon Cruz / Reuters His big dream is to participate in the Olympics. – I grew up in a refugee camp, so I never got a nationality. Therefore, I could not feel a sense of belonging to a country. The refugee camp became like a home to me. Today I got a new country in Switzerland and they have given me every opportunity, Lobalu told news. – Incomprehensible. But in the context of the Olympics, that doesn’t help. On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee, IOC, confirmed that Lobalu cannot run for Switzerland in the Summer Olympics. Instead, the IOC board has now invited Lobalu to represent their own refugee team in the Olympics. Initially, the squad for the refugee team was taken out in May, but they have now found a place for Lobalu. – Although he recently received approval from World Athletics to represent Switzerland in World Athletics competitions, even though he is not Swiss, the IOC board has confirmed that he cannot represent Switzerland in the Olympics. He does not have Swiss citizenship, as required by the Olympic Charter, said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. IOC SPOKESMAN: Mark Adams during an IOC press conference in 2018. Photo: AFP The Swiss Athletics Federation is not satisfied with this decision. – Swiss Athletics notes this decision with both surprise and at the same time it is understandable, the association wrote in a press release after the decision. They believe that the IOC rules could allow Lobalu to compete for Switzerland. The association is now waiting for further information from the IOC and they still dream of seeing Lobalu in Swiss clothes during the Olympics. Saman Soltani is among the 36 athletes who were selected for the IOC’s refugee team earlier this year: IOC: – It is up to him The Olympic Charter is the very basic book for the Olympic Games, where the rule states that an athlete in the Olympics must be of the same nationality as the country he represents. Adams further pointed out that the IOC recently received a letter from the president of the Swiss Athletics Federation and the president of the Swiss Olympic Committee. EC GOLD: This is what it looked like when Lobalu sprinted to gold in the 10,000 metres. Photo: BILDBYRÅN – They wrote in the letter that Lobalu is not yet Swiss according to Swiss law. It is very difficult to obtain Swiss citizenship. Just to apply, one must have lived in Switzerland for at least ten years, one must be integrated into Swiss society and must know at least one of the four official Swiss languages, said Adams, and continued: – They are very clear that he currently does not have citizenship, and then he cannot compete in accordance with our rules. What I want to emphasize is that Lobalu can compete in Paris. It’s entirely up to him. news’s athletics expert Vebjørn Rodal believes that Lobalu is an addition to the long-distance race and that his participation will ensure that the width at the top is increased. At the same time, several Kenyan runners have changed citizenship for commercial reasons. The athletics expert welcomes this tightening, but also believes that care must be taken for refugees who have escaped from their country. – One must distinguish between the purely commercial changes of citizenship and refugees who are on the run due to broken conditions from where they come from, says Rodal. news’s ATHLETICS EXPERT: Vebjørn Rodal. Photo: Sigmund Sagberg Andersen / news Shocked in 2022: – Never heard if he Lobalu introduced himself to the athletics world when he won the 3000 meters in the Diamond League race in Stockholm two years ago. – I have never heard of him, Narve Gilje Nordås told news after the race in the Swedish capital. And maybe it wasn’t so strange. At that time, Lobalu had had a long and tortuous road to the top of the world. It was a pure coincidence that he should end up in running shoes rather than football boots. Because when football turned out to be too expensive, he switched to athletics and started training seriously at the age of 15. His career reached its preliminary peak with the EC gold on Wednesday night, a chance he has been waiting for ever since he started running. Now it remains to be seen whether Lobalu will be seen in the Olympics, then without a Swiss flag on his chest. Published 15.06.2024, at 08.49
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Not allowed to participate in the Olympics for his new nation – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
