Visa Champions Refugee Athlete Dina Pouryounes for Olympic Games Paris 2024

Dina Pouryounes, refugee taekwondo athlete, was announced as part of Team Visa Roster for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. To date, Dina has won 50 world ranking medals, and was the World No. 3 ranked -49kg athlete in April 2020.

Today, the world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement we have ever seen. According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 120 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations.

Dina comes from a city in the North of Iran and was forced to flee her homeland, finding refuge in The Netherlands. Talking about her own experience as a refugee, Dina says: “It was in 2014, I found I had no choice. When I arrived in The Netherlands I had to start a new life, and it was very difficult. I knew neither nor their language nor any place. There were no conditions for training in the refugee camps.

“Being a refugee, you experience so many ups and downs…you face new challenges on a daily basis. As a refugee athlete, I don’t have a team. Some people who defect to other countries have a powerful national team which they can train with, but I have never had that. If it weren’t for Visa, it would’ve been a challenge to keep attending the training camps and following my dream, and I’m grateful to them for supporting me.”

Kim Kadlec, CMO at Visa Europe said: “At Visa, we are inspired by Dina Pouryounes' extraordinary journey of resilience and determination and the steps she has taken towards pursuing her dream. Her story exemplifies the unifying power of sport and reflects our commitment to empowering forcibly displaced individuals. By supporting Dina, we hope to provide her with the opportunities, resources and access she needs to achieve her dreams, and hope that by sharing her story others feel inspired to fulfil their own dreams too.”

Dina’s love for taekwondo began at the age of 3. She has fond memories of growing up and being supported by her family in the pursuit of her dreams. She became a member of the National Team at the age of 13 and became a bronze medallist at the Asian Championships in 2012 but following this initial success it became more and more challenging to continue thriving due to the situation in her homeland. After fleeing and settling in The Netherlands in 2015 Dina never gave up on her hopes and dreams, in 2018 she became the first refugee athlete in sporting history to win a silver medal at the European Championships.

Dina kept working hard and taking small steps on her path to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, being also part of the Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 and has continued to be supported by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, receiving Refugee Athlete Scholarship funded by Olympic Solidarity.

“I feel pretty good about The Olympic Games. The most important thing is that my mother will be there. And I want to show the world that with the right tools and support, we can achieve our goals”, says Dina.

Visa recognises the unique challenges faced by forcibly displaced people throughout their journey from the onset of displacement to long-term integration in their host countries. Through Visa’s various programmes, such as Team Visa for Paris 2024 and Visa Everywhere Pioneer 20, the mission is to empower forcibly displaced people, as individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners, and boost local economies and communities. By leveraging its expertise and global network, Visa is working to provide refugees with the tools they need and empower them with skills, opportunities, and support to rebuild their lives and take the small steps to reaching their full potential.

Find out more about Visa's forcibly displaced programme here.