Afghanistan at the Olympics

Afghanistan at the Olympic Games

Flag of Afghanistan
IOC code  AFG
NOC Afghanistan National Olympic Committee
Olympic history
Summer Games

Afghanistan has competed in 13 Summer Games. They have never appeared in any Winter Games.

The country made its first appearance at the Berlin Games in 1936. It has sent a delegation to most Summer Games since then.

Afghanistan did not send a team to the Barcelona Games in 1992, and sent only two representatives to the Atlanta Games in 1996. Light-middleweight boxer Mohammad Jawid Aman was not permitted to compete, having arrived too late for the mandatory weigh-in and draw, which left marathonian Abdul Baser Wasiqi as the country's sole representative. Wasiqi injured a hamstring muscle before the race, but competed nonetheless, literally limping his way through the marathon and finishing last.[1] In 1999, Afghanistan was banned from the Olympics due to its discrimination against women under Taliban rule as well as its prohibition of sports of any kind, and thus missed out on the Sydney Olympics of the year 2000. The country was re-instated in 2002, following the fall of the Taliban,[2] and sent five representatives to the Athens Games in 2004. Among them were two women, Robina Muqim Yaar and Friba Razayee, the first ever women to compete for Afghanistan at the Olympics.[3]

Afghanistan sent a team of four competitors,[4] including three men and one woman, Mehboba Ahdyar,[5] to the Beijing Games of 2008. Ahdyar has received death threats due to her intended participation in the Games.[4]

Afghanistan won their first summer Olympic medal during the 2008 Beijing games, with Rohullah Nikpai winning a bronze in men's Taekwondo 58 kg, and their second at the 2012 Games with another bronze for Nikpai in the men's 68 kg taekwondo event.[6]

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
Germany 1936 Berlin 19 0 0 0 0 –
United Kingdom 1948 London 31 0 0 0 0 –
Finland 1952 Helsinki did not participate
Australia 1956 Melbourne 16 0 0 0 0 –
Italy 1960 Rome 18 0 0 0 0 –
Japan 1964 Tokyo 8 0 0 0 0 –
Mexico 1968 Mexico City 5 0 0 0 0 –
West Germany 1972 Munich 8 0 0 0 0 –
Canada 1976 Montreal did not participate
Soviet Union 1980 Moscow 11 0 0 0 0 –
United States 1984 Los Angeles did not participate
South Korea 1988 Seoul 5 0 0 0 0 –
Spain 1992 Barcelona did not participate
United States 1996 Atlanta 2 0 0 0 0 –
Australia 2000 Sydney did not participate
Greece 2004 Athens 5 0 0 0 0 –
China 2008 Beijing 4 0 0 1 1 80
United Kingdom 2012 London 6 0 0 1 1 79
Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Japan 2020 Tokyo
Total 0 0 2 2 132

Medals by summer sport

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Taekwondo 0 0 2 2
Total* 0 0 2 2

Updated on March 8, 2014

Note: Afghanistan was banned from the Olympics in 1999 for its discrimination against women under the Taliban regime at the time.

List of medalists

Medal Name Games Sport Event
 Bronze Nikpai, RohullahRohullah Nikpai China 2008 Beijing Taekwondo Men's 58 kg
 Bronze Nikpai, RohullahRohullah Nikpai United Kingdom 2012 London Taekwondo Men's 68 kg

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Taleban hope to get ban revoked", Reuters, August 17, 2000
  2. ↑ "A Run to The Future", Time, April 11, 2004
  3. ↑ "Afghan women's Olympic dream", BBC, June 22, 2004
  4. 1 2 "Afghan Athletes Train for Beijing Olympic ", Afghan embassy to the United States, April 29, 2008
  5. ↑ "Afghan Woman Runs Toward Olympics Despite Jeers, Potential Danger", Associated Press, March 16, 2008
  6. ↑ Afghanistan at the Olympics, The Telegraph

External links

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