Stranded Olympians From South Sudan Find Unexpected Haven in Japan
The city of Maebashi has embraced the athletes, who came before the games were delayed.
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For the past 20 months, the South Sudanese track-and-field team have been training in Maebashi, a city two hours north of Tokyo, for the Olympics. The five arrived before the games were delayed by the global pandemic last year, expecting to be here for only half a year.
Now, the area known for its historic silk industry has become a second home for the athletes as they seek the first-ever Olympic medal for the Republic of South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011 only to be caught up in a civil war for most of the next decade.