Anjelina Nadai Lohalith claims first international win for Athlete Refugee Team

The Athlete Refugee Team have claimed the first win at an international competition following Anjelina Nadai Lohalith’s triumph at the European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country in Castellon, Spain.

Lohalith, a native of South Sudan who is based in Kenya, secured a five-second victory with a time of 27:55 over the 8.7km course.

She led the pack of seven runners from the start before pulling away on the fourth of the five laps to eventually cross the finish line unchallenged.

The 30-year-old was competing in Castellon as a guest for Tel Aviv’s Alley Runners Club, where several other Athlete Refugee Team members are based.

Lohalith, who represented the Athlete Refugee Team in the 1500m at both the Rio Olympic Games and Tokyo 2020, was competing in her first race beyond that distance, making her win all the more remarkable.

She has also previously raced in the 1500m at the 2017 and 2022 World Championships, in the latter of which she achieved a personal best of 4:23.84.

“After the World Championships in Oregon, I came back to Kenya and I started to work harder towards my goal to succeed as a long distance runner,” Lohalith said.

“I am training hard all week – only training and sleeping. Even during Christmas, when all the athletes in the camp travelled back home, I stayed in the camp for training alone.

“I don’t see my son and parents too often because I have a goal to improve further at the Olympics in Paris next year.”

Lohalith fled war-torn South Sudan in 2002 to the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya.

She began taking part in running competitions at her high school in the camp when she was spotted by coaches for the Tegla Loroupe Foundation, who invited her to a training camp in Ngong, just outside Nairobi.

In 2016, she was one of 10 refugee athletes selected to compete at the Rio Olympic Games under the Refugee Team flag.

Lohalith is now preparing to travel with the Athlete Refugee Team to compete at the World Cross Country Championships on February 18 in Bathurst, Australia.