First ever Refugee Olympic Team spotlight at Rio Games opening ceremony

The Refugee Olympic Athletes' team arrives for the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 5, 2016. [Photo by Wei Xiaohao/chinadaily.com.cn]

RIO DE JANEIRO - The first ever Olympic refugee team became the spotlight in the Rio Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

The team was the penultimate one to enter the Maracana Stadium, just before host Brazil.

Running under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) flag, the athletes are Yiech Pur Biel (South Sudan, men's 800m), James Nyang Chiengjiek (South Sudan, men's 400m), Yonas Kinde (Ethiopia, men's marathon), Anjelina Nada Lohalith (South Sudan, women's 1500m), Rose Nathike Lokonyen (South Sudan, women's 800m), Paulo Amotun Lokoro (South Sudan, men's 1500m).

Rose Nathike Lokonyen, an 800m runner who fled the war in South Sudan and arrived at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya in 2002, carried the Olympic flag for this special squad.