Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
World Aquatics supports displaced athletes through the Aquatics Refugee Team (ART), enabling swimmers to compete internationally from their new host countries. Among these athletes is Matin Balsini, an Iranian-born swimmer and two-time Olympian. Balsini set national records and was the first Iranian to break the two-minute barrier in the men's 200m butterfly. After seeking asylum in the United Kingdom in 2022, he resumed his career and represented the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at Paris 2024.
Balsini is joined on the ART by Hannaneh Afshar, who began swimming at age four in Iran and became a national record holder early on. Unable to pursue her Olympic goals at home, she moved to Dubai before receiving refugee status in Brazil, where she continues to train and compete internationally. Afshar is the second female refugee swimmer on the ART after Yusra Mardini, who also competed at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships.
The ART exists to give displaced athletes the opportunity to continue their sports careers despite challenges related to displacement and changes in nationality.