South Sudan’s Olympic team on its way to Rio

The two athletes are 19-year-old Margret Rumat Hassan, who will compete in the 200 and 400-meter races, and 16-year-old Santino Kenyi, who will compete in the 1,500 meter race.

South Sudanese athletes will compete for the first time in the Olympic Games, after joining the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in August 2015 as the 206th member.

South Sudan’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Ndai Arop Dudi, urged South Sudanese to give the athletes the necessary support, so the come home with good results. “This is the first time our country is participating in the Olympic Games. We have to be happy today. Sports are important in building peace and developing young people. So let us join hands to support our team and lift our flag high,” said Dudi.

“I really feel proud of representing my nation (in the Olympics) for the first time,” said Kenyi Santino said. “To me, we are all carrying the flag of South Sudan for peace and I would like people to unite and be together. We are opening the door for young people of south Sudan.”

Despite having no prior Olympic experience, Santino said he is hopeful South Sudan will achieve positive results in its Olympic debut. “We are going to compete with people who have more experience than us. We hope that we will do something […], because I have been competing in some tournaments for South Sudan, so I hope I will bring something for my country,” said Santino.

Margret Rumat Hassan already competed as an independent athlete in the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. She said, she wants to use her Olympic experience to inspire other South Sudanese girls to take up sports. “Many people will be surprised to see a girl going to the Olympics. But I want to tell our girls to take up sports so that next time many girls can go for the Olympics,” said Hassan.

Hassan’s story was recently highlighted in an advert for Samsung.

Listen to the full interview with Santino Kenyi: