Palestinian swimmer at Olympics to ‘stand up for those who can’t’

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Consul General of France Nicolas Kassianides in Jerusalem held an event in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday for Palestinian athletes who will attend Olympics 2024 Paris Games.

Among the attendees was Palestinian athlete from the diaspora Vallerie Tarazi who will be swimming to represent Palestine. She is in the US, her grandfather is from Gaza, where she still has family.

“Our goal as athletes and I speak on behalf of the eight other athletes, that will be competing in the Olympics, I mean the Paralympics too. Our goal is to inspire the younger generation. Sport has given us more than we could ever ask for. It’s given us an identity. It’s given us something greater than ourselves, a greater purpose. We stand with the flag to represent the millions of Palestinians around the world who have been silenced, who’ve been censored, who don’t have a voice. And that is our goal, is we want to stand for those people who can’t.”

Eight Palestinian athletes will represent Palestine, one athlete in Taekwondo has qualified while others are training to meet the IOC standard in their sport to have priority for a wildcard.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 – August 11 and the Paralympics will run from August 28 – September 8.