BEIJING — Yiech Pur Biel was just 10 years old when he fled war-torn South Sudan, leaving his family behind. He made his way to a refugee camp in Kenya, where he found a sense of purpose and belonging through sports.
Now the man without a country is on the brink of belonging to the International Olympic Committee. Biel aspires to continue his work advocating for refugees and youth.
“I represent millions of refugees around the world who don’t have access to be members of the IOC,” Biel told Around the Rings in an interview from Des Moines, Iowa, where he runs track and cross country for Drake University.
“This is to be the voice of the refugees, the voice for the youth. Being an athlete, the only way that you can give back to society is when you inspire other people.”
Biel, 27, was a member of the first Refugee Olympic Team in 2016, competing in the 800 meters at the Rio Games.
Also proposed for membership are skeet shooter Danke Bartekova of Slovakia, an Olympic bronze medalist in 2012; and David Lappartient of France, the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Biel and Bartekova will be independent individual members while Lappartient’s membership is linked to his function with the international federation.
Although the 139th IOC Session begins Thursday, elections will not be held until Feb. 19, the day before the Beijing Olympic Games end. The three nominees were vetted by the IOC Members Election Commission and subject to integrity checks by the IOC Ethics Commission. The vote is expected to be a formality.
Amendments made to the Olympic Charter at the IOC Session in Tokyo earlier this year made Biel’s nomination possible. Up to seven IOC members may be elected in special cases without a nationality or National Olympic Committee requirement.
“I think it will allow me to continue with the work that I already started in 2016 when I competed,” said Biel, who will travel to Beijing a few days before the election. “We have to continue supporting these young people through sport and education because they have talent.”
Biel left his hometown of Nasir in 2005 to escape the civil war. His parents and siblings are still in South Sudan.
He showed talent in football and started running in 2015 when he found out the Tegla Loroupe Foundation would be holding athletics trials in the Kakuma refugee camp, which was home to about 180,000 displaced people.
Biel said in a 2016 interview that the refugee camp had no facilities, “even shoes we don’t have,” he said. “There is no gym. Even the weather does not favor training because from morning until evening it is sunny and hot.”
He moved to Nairobi to train with Loroupe and was one of 10 athletes selected to compete for the inaugural refugee team in Rio.
While Biel’s parents and siblings still live in South Sudan, he considers the refugee camp in Kenya to be his home.
After the 2016 Games, Biel moved seamlessly into sports administration while continuing his competitive career.
In 2017, he became a Board Member of the Olympic Refuge Foundation and since 2020 has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency.
Biel appeared with IOC President Thomas Bach for the signing of the Truce Mural at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He was a speaker at the Olympism in Action Forum at the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires in 2018 and was the Team Leader for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020.
In 2016, Biel addressed the United Nations General Assembly with the #WithRefugees campaign petitions in support of education, food and shelter requirements for refugees. He also represented other refugees at the South Sudan Peace Talks in Addis Ababa and Khartoum in 2018.
“More than anything his own mission goes way beyond trying to run fast; it’s to exemplify and show that refugees and/or people in dire situations can do pretty amazing things,” said Jay Koloseus, the head cross country coach at Drake University who recruited Biel. “That’s always been his mission to try and send hope, to keep working for people who are in situations like he was.”
Biel also hopes to work in conjunction with the Athletes’ Commission to represent all athletes.
“I am one of the athletes who is contributing to say, ‘This is what we are supposed to do,’” he said. “We have to continue the same spirit. Sport is what everyone belongs to.”
Biel has an Associate Degree in Social Science from Iowa Central Community College. Now a junior at Drake University, he is studying international relations.
With his experience, he could be teaching the class.
“I know, but we have to follow the procedure and listen to professors,” Biel said.
He’s not intimidated to hobnob with the princes, princesses and business leaders who are among the IOC membership. “I’m comfortable,” said Biel, who will be one of the younger members. “I’m an athlete, I’m a student, and I’m a human being who is always glad to interact with anyone. I feel like anywhere I could fit in.”
“He just has an aura or a presence about him that just seems to go miles,” said Koloseus. “It’s not something he brags about, but you can tell he’s a role model and an example.”
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