Lesbian refugee boxer Cindy Ngamba shares emotional statement after making Olympics history
Cindy Ngamba of the Refugee Olympic Team reacts after her defeat against Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon of Team Panama (Getty)
Lesbian boxer Cindy Ngamba has won the Refugee Olympic Team’s first-ever medal.
Ngamba beat Davina Michel of France in the quarter-finals of the women’s 75kg boxing division to win a bronze medal. But she was denied the chance of a silver or gold after losing to Panama’s Atheyna Bylon on a split decision in her semi-final on Thursday evening (8 August).
“It means the world to me, to be the first ever refugee to win a medal. I’m just a human, just like any other refugee, athlete, all around the world,” she said after she beat Michel.
Middleweight Ngamba is from Cameroon but moved to the UK at the age 11. After leaving school, she went to the University of Bolton where she gained a degree in crime and criminal justice, all while training as a boxer.
According to The Bolton News, Ngamba found out when she was 16 that she did not have the correct papers and was threatened with deportation by the Home Office. She was even arrested at one point and taken to a deportation centre until her claim for asylum, on the grounds of her sexuality – being gay is a criminal offence in Cameroon – was granted.
Although Ngamba has been seeking British citizenship, supported by GB Boxing, the Home Office has repeatedly denied her applications.
GB Boxing’s performance director, Rob McCracken, has described her as “part of the family” but she doesn’t qualify to represent Team GB and instead competed as part of the Olympic Refugee Team.
“I want to say to all the refugees all around the world and refugees [who] are not athletes, and humans around the world, you have to keep on working hard, keep on believing in yourself,” Ngamba said.
“You can achieve whatever you put your mind to.”
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