Reigning Olympic champion Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez has been awarded an International Olympic Committee Refugee Athlete Scholarship as he targets a place at Paris 2024.
Born in Cuba, Jorge represented his native country at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Jorge made history in Tokyo, winning Cuba’s first-ever Olympic gold in Canoe Sprint courtesy of his triumph in the men’s C2 1000 alongside Serguey Torres.
He is also a Pan American Games champion and a multiple world medallist with his latest coming at Copenhagen 2021.
In 2022, Jorge left Cuba and settled in Mexico where he worked and trained simultaneously under difficult conditions.
Jorge is now situated in Florida in the United States and trains daily in a canal near his home with the support of his coach, Alain.
Hosted by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Jorge is aiming to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at Paris 2024 after securing a scholarship.
He is one of five new Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders, bringing the total number on the programme to 74.
The refugee athletes are from 12 countries, live in 24 host countries, and represent 14 sports.
Jorge joins fellow Canoe Sprint paddlers Saman Soltani and Saeid Fazloula.
Soltani is originally from Iran and now resides in Austria.
Fazloula is also a native Iranian and has been living in Germany since 2015.
Related links
- How Saman Soltani fought for her Olympic chance
- Sprint athlete Soltani offered refugee scholarship
- Olympic dream one step closer for Fazloula
