Forced out of DR Congo in 2017, Arno Yafunga Botay now steps onto the judo mat at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics with a message for the world.
A young Congolese judoka is carrying the hopes of displaced people across the continent to Dakar. Arno Yafunga Botay, who fled DR Congo with his family in 2017, will compete at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team.
For Botay, this is about much more than a place on the roster. He has made clear that he wants to show refugees belong on the biggest stages in sport, and that talent, discipline and courage don't depend on the passport you hold or the home you were forced to leave.
His path says a lot about the sport he chose. Judo rewards balance, resilience and the ability to get back up after being thrown, qualities that fit an athlete who rebuilt his life after leaving everything familiar behind in 2017.
The setting makes it even bigger. Dakar 2026 puts the Youth Olympics on African soil, so a young man with Congolese roots will compete in front of an African crowd under the Refugee Olympic Team banner. Whatever happens on the mat, Arno Yafunga Botay has already won the chance to be seen, and he plans to make the most of it.
