London: Refugee athlete Angelina Nadi says she has made great improvements at the London world championships, both in terms of her sporting performances and her life, one year after she competed at the Rio Olympic Games.

Nadi finished last in a heat of the women’s 1,500m in London but her time of 4:33.54 was no doubt a big improvement compared to her 4:47.38 at the Rio Olympic Games where she was a part of the first ever Refugee Olympic Team, reports Xinhua.

“I have great improvement compared to the one I had in Rio. I was so happy and I have hope to do better in the future,” said the 24-year-old, originally from South Sudan.

As one of millions of refugees, Nadi once saw her life sink into hopelessness after she was forced to be separated from her parents when she was just eight amid a raging war and subsequently was put up in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. She took up running there but never thought the sport could turn out to be the saviour.

When professional coaches came to Kakuma to hold selection trials for a special training camp, Nadi grabbed the opportunity to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team, which is selected by the International Olympic Committee, in the women’s 1,500-metre at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In Rio, Nadi placed 40th out of 41 runners in Round 1 of the event and stood no chance of advancing but the Olympics was a life-changing experience for her.

“I never thought that I would be able to go and compete somewhere like Rio,” she said in a UN Refugee Agency interview after the Games. “It has really made my heart to be open because before I participated in sports, I couldn’t know that I can be somebody who can do something which can be recognised by the world.”

Running opened Nadi’s eyes. In London, she again competed with the refugee team consisting of five athletes, but exudes a new hope and confidence. “I hope I will never give up. I just wish to continue training more and I believe I will be like them [the rest of the athletes],” she said after her race on Friday when the world championships kicked off.

Nadi was aware that her being in the competition sent positive messages to people in misery.

“When I was competing I wasn’t competing on my own. I believe when I am competing, someone like me is watching. I give them a lot of hope,” she said.