Popole Misenga (born 25 February 1992) is a

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

originally from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, who was selected by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) to compete for the

Refugee Olympic Team The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a symbol ...

at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil.

Personal life

Misenga was born on 25 February 1992. He is from the

Bukavu Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu P ...

area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an area severely affected by the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

. After his mother was murdered when he was nine years old, he fled to a nearby rainforest and wandered for a week, before being rescued and taken to a home in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. He sought

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

after travelling there to compete in the

2013 World Judo Championships The 2013 World Judo Championships were held at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 26 August to 1 September. Schedule ''All times are local (Time in Brazil, UTC−3).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Wom ...

along with fellow judoka

Yolande Mabika Yolande Bukasa Mabika (born 8 September 1987) is a Congolese-born Brazilian judoka who was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She co ...

. The pair claimed that their coaches confined them in their hotel room while leaving with their money, passports and meal tickets. After two days barely eating, Mabika escaped, and Misenga waited more days only for the staff to arrive on the day of the competition, smelling of alcohol. The following day, Mabika returned to the hotel and convinced Misenga to desert, and both were taken by an

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n to the African immigrant-heavy neighborhood of Brás de Pina. They also stated that back in Africa, their judo coaches deprived them of food and locked them in cages when they did not perform well. The

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

(UNHCR) officially granted him refugee status in September 2014. He is now married to a Brazilian woman, with whom he has two children.

Judo

Misenga first took up judo at a centre for displaced children in Kinshasa. In 2010 he won a bronze medal at the African under-20 Judo Championships. At the

held in Brazil he was eliminated in the first round of his competition after losing to Islam Bozbayev of Kazakhstan. Following this tournament he sought asylum in Brazil and remained in the country. In Brazil he started training at the Instituto Reação, a judo school founded by Olympic bronze medallist

Flávio Canto Flávio Vianna de Ulhôa Canto (born 16 April 1975, in Oxford, England) is a Brazilian judoka who competed in Men's 81 kg Judo. He won the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is the founder and president of the Instituto Reação, ...

, and now trains under coach Geraldo Bernardes in Rio de Janeiro. Before being taken by Reação, Misenga had odd jobs at truck crews. He received support and funding from the IOC's Olympic Solidarity programme. On 3 June 2016 the IOC announced that Misenga would be part of a team of ten athletes selected to compete as part of a

at the

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the men's 90 kg event, Misenga won his first bout against Avtar Singh of India, but lost against South Korea's Gwak Dong-han. Misenga has continued to practice judo, taking part in events such as the

2019 World Judo Championships The 2019 World Judo Championships were held in Tokyo, Japan from 25 August to 1 September 2019. Schedule ''All times are local (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events Mixed events Prize m ...

and a second Olympic appearance as part of the

in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, Japan. He has however noted that his amount of competitions is limited by how

travel visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

s are denied to refugees.Refugiado congolês que vive no Rio de Janeiro perde nas Olimpíadas; conheça o judoca Popole Misenga
G1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Misenga, Popole Living people 1992 births People from Bukavu Democratic Republic of the Congo male judoka Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo sportsmen