Refugee Olympic lifters: new personal bests and a lesson of life in Paris!

The importance of the moment was marked by the presence of a special spectator in the weightlifting South Paris Arena today: the IOC President Thomas Bach. The ‘moment’ was the participation of Ramiro Mora, a member of the Refugee Olympic Team, in the men’s 102kg final. Two refugee lifters were added to the IWF 120-athlete quota for these Games: Mora, originally from Cuba but presently based in the UK, and Yekta Jamali (Iran/Germany), who competed in the following session, the women’s 81kg.

For Mora, his first Olympic participation will certainly remain an unforgettable milestone in his career: finishing seventh in a final of 13 competitors, the 26-year-old largely improved his personal best, making a 166kg snatch and a 210kg clean and jerk, for a total of 376kg. “This is like a dream for me. I promised my mum that I would come to the Olympics and I would have a good performance, and this is done! I am extremely happy!”

Ramiro Mora

Having started weightlifting at the age of 14 – “some friends of mine in Cuba were going to the gym and were getting stronger, and I wanted to be the same” – Mora left the Caribbean island in 2019 to work in a circus in Great Britain. “I was in charge of making sure the guys doing the trampolines would not finish on the floor – I am a strong guy you know…” he recalls, smiling in the mixed zone of the South Paris Arena.

He is quickly spotted by British Weightlifting and receives the necessary support to pursue his weightlifting career. These efforts prove fruitful, as he becomes Britain’s national champion in 2023. “Going to Blackpool, I immediately felt that I could have better conditions to progress as an athlete. The proof is that today I am here, at the Olympic Games, doing a great result,” Mora admits. His Parisian performance is 17kg better than the result he achieved at the 2024 IWF World Cup, held in Phuket (THA) in April, where he did 162-197-359.

Yekta Jamali

“In the beginning, it was quite complicated. When I first asked for asylum in the UK, I couldn’t do anything – I could not work, I could not have any activity. That’s when my first coach helped me and I re-started training again…”Mora confesses.

From now on, and with an additional motivation at home – his four-month-old daughter -, Mora will proceed with the training and his voluntary work as children’s coach in England. “It’s very nice to be able to motivate young kids with our example!” On a more competitive level, he adds: “I will make everything possible to represent Great Britain at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles!”

In the women’s field, Jamali also performed very consistently and largely improved her personal best – she came to Paris with a total of 100-125-225 from the IWF World Cup in Thailand and left the French capital with a 103-128-231. At 19, the former Iranian lifter represented her country until 2022, and then decided to seek other opportunities in Germany, where she is actually based. As with Mora, this was also the first Olympic experience for Jamali.

“Doing a new personal best in this so prestigious stage is a great motive of satisfaction!” she states, after concluding her final in the ninth position (out of 13).

Jamali also spoke about the challenges she endured during her first year in Germany. “It hasn’t been easy all the time. I finally found some stability to train and concentrate on my weightlifting career. The opportunity to be here at the Games, in the Refugee Team, will also help me in the future and perhaps open the doors for more support,” Jamali concedes.

At the end of her short interview with the journalists, she also hoped for more stability in the future. “If I ever get to compete for Germany, I’ll certainly be very happy,” she confesses in a quite reasonable German.

By Pedro Adrega
IWF Communications