Arno Yafunga fled conflict-hit Congo with his family as a young child. Now, with his father as his coach, the 15-year-old judoka is making history as part of the first refugee team to compete at the Youth Olympic Games.

His father, Arnold, said they fled to Kenya in 2017 over safety concerns. Beside the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya, the father found a judo club and continued practicing a sport he had loved since childhood before Arno and other family members asked to join him.

Nearly a decade later, Arno became one of six young athletes representing refugees at the ongoing Games in Senegal.…