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Arab countries in Biejing Olympics

The Arab League was established in 1945 and it currently has 22 member countries defined as Arabs. Here is an overview of Arab countries and their Olympic history:

ALGERIA 


First competition in 1964. One of the 26 countries led by African nations to boycott the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada. Competed in Moscow and Los Angeles, Atlanta and Sydney. Won 12 Olympic medals, including three in 1996 and five in 2000.

In 1996, 1500m runner Noureddine Morceli and lightweight boxer Hocine Soltani both won gold medals. The five medals it won in Sydney were the most ever in a single Games for Algeria. Its only gold medal in Sydney went to Nouria Merah-Benida in women's 1500m. Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria won the first gold medal Barcelona women's 1500m in 1992. The previous year, in 1991, Hassiba Boulmerka scored a stunning victory in the 1500m run at the World Championships in athletics. When she returned to Algiera, she was hailed as a national hero and a model for Arab women who wanted to break away from restrictive roles. But she was also condemned by Islamic fundamentalists and was forced to move to Europe to train.

 
BAHRAIN 



15 athletes. Scheduled to attend the Olympic Games of 1980, but boycotted with many countries in protest against the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan, and attended its first Olympics in 1984.

Has never won an Olympic medal, but Adel Darraj won a bronze medal in taekwondo when he participated in a demonstration sport at the Olympic Games in Seoul.  

COMOROS 

3 athletes. Founded its Olympic Committee in 1979 and was officially recognized by the IOC in 1993. Was one of 25 countries which made its Olympic debut in Atlanta. Never won a medal.

 
DJIBOUTI

2 athletes. Made his Olympic debut in 1984, when it sent three athletes to Los Angeles in 1984. In 1988, Djibouti has earned its first and only Olympic medal by Salah Ahmed Houssein who won a bronze medal in the marathon. He returned this year to raise the flag of Djibouti at the opening ceremony of the competition of athletes.

 
EGYPT

104 athletes. First competition in 1912. From 1960 to 1968, in competition with Syria as the United Arab Republic, but we think most athletes were Egyptians. Boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Won 21 medals. Mohammed Ali Rashwan won a medal in the open division judo in 1984. That was its first medal since 1960.

Egypt was powerful in weightlifting in 1930 and 1940, dominating the lighter classes. Won five medals in Athens (one gold, one silver, three bronze). Karam Gaber won the gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling (96kg/211.5 pounds) and boxer Mohamed Aly won the silver in men’s boxing (91kg/201 lbs). No Egyptian woman has ever won an Olympic medal.

 IRAQ 

4 athletes. Iraq has made its Olympic debut in 1948 and won an Olympic medal: Abdul Wahid Aziz weightlifting bronze in 1960.


In 2004, after the USA invaded and occupied the country, the Iraqi football team got qualified for Athens.

SYRIA

7 athletes. Syria has made its Olympic debut in 1948, sending a diver at the London Games. It first participated in a team sport at the 1980 Games, when the men's soccer team competed in Moscow.

Syria has won two Olympic medals. The first is money earned by Joseph Atiyeh freestyle wrestler at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Atiyeh, a student at the State University of Louisiana at the time, was defeated by the American Lou Banach in the final.

The second medal was won by Ghada Shouaa, the only Syrian female athlete in Atlanta. Shouaa won the gold medal in Atlanta for her country, and has also attained her first Olympic title. From 1960 to 1968, Syria participated in the Games in competition with Egypt as the United Arab Republic, but we think most athletes were Egyptians. Never boycotted the Olympics

JORDAN

7 athletes. Made its debut in 1980 by sending four athletes to the Olympics in Moscow, thus, breaking the Arab League boycott of the Soviet Union because of its invasion of Afghanistan.


It participated in every Olympics since. Has never won an Olympic medal.

 
KUWAIT - 8 athletes. Kuwait first competed in 1968, and continues since then.

Won its first Olympic medal at the 2000 Sydney Games - Fehaid Al Deehani won the bronze in the double trap shooting.

Danah Al Nasrallah has become the first Kuwaiti woman Olympian in Athens, where she participated in 100m women.

LEBANON


6 athletes. Lebanon’s first competition was in 1948.

Boycotted the 1956 Games in Melbourne in protest against the Israeli occupation of the Sinai peninsula. A winner of four Olympic medals, none of them gold, and none since 1980.

Three came in Greco-Roman wrestling, one in weightlifting.

LIBYA


7 athletes. In 1964, Libya sent only one athlete to Tokyo who was the marathoner Fighi Hassan, but he fell ill and could not compete, thus delaying the entry of Libya into the Games until 1968. Did not participate in the Games of 1984, but it was not part of the Soviet Union led boycott.

Have not had athletes compete in Sydney but it sent a delegation. Sent eight athletes to Athens. Has never won an Olympic medal.

MAURITANIA


2 athletes. Mauritania was to participate in the 1980 Games in Moscow, but boycotted. Made its debut at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Two athletes in both Sydney and Athens. Has never won an Olympic medal. The athletes in athletics are Bounkou Souleymane Camara and El Moctar Chabal.

MOROCCO


49 athletes. Won 19 Olympic medals - six gold, four silver and nine bronze. Thirteen of those medals came in men of athletics. First competition in 1960. Was one of four African nations to attend the opening ceremony of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, before withdrawing from competition in solidarity with the 22 other African countries which had boycotted the Games. Morocco also boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow.

In 1984, Nawal El Moutawakel won the women's 400m obstacles and Saïd Aouita won the 5000m men. Some see Aouita, who is a world-class athlete, to be the greatest runner of all time.

 
The most notorious medal came in Barcelona - Khalid Skah’s controversial victory in the 10000m. Skah pin teammate Hammou BOUTAYEB, interfered with Kenyan Richard Chelimo, who held a slight lead over Skah. Skah won the race, but Chelimo's initial protest was given by officials and he was considered the winner over Skah. The decision was subsequently cancelled and Skah was reinstated as the winner. Won two medals in Atlanta, both athletics bronze - Khalid Boulami (5000m men) and Salah Hissou (10000m men). Added five medals in Sydney (one silver, four bronze).

The biggest shock was the performance of Hicham El Guerrouj in 1500m men - Noah Ngeny of Kenya favorable to disrupt Morocco, which, for the second time, entered the Olympics as a favorite and left without gold. In Sydney, El Guerrouj has managed to hang on for money. In Athens, he settled for nothing less than gold, winning both men 5000m and 1500m. He became the first man to do so since the great Finnish Paavo Nurmi’s feat in 1924. Hasna Benhassi won the other medals in Athens, a silver in the 800m women.

 
 
OMAN


 4 athletes. Made its debut at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Did not win a medal. Buthaina Yaqoubi is the first female athlete to compete in an Olympic match. Buthaina Yaqoubi was competing in women 100m sprint and the long jump or triple jump. Oman won its first gold medal in Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990 by 400m runner Ben Amer Mohammed Al Malky. Other athletes include shooter Allah Dad Al Balushi, Abdullah Al Sooli, and Nassib Bin Mohammed Al Habsi.

PALESTINE - 4 athletes. Made its Olympic debut in Atlanta. Palestine was very enthusiastic about the opportunity to compete in the Olympics. The Palestinian Olympic Committee was one of the first things established after the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Arafat signed a peace agreement on the lawn of the White House in October 1993. Even if the Palestinian Authority is not a state, its status as an independent territory makes it eligible for the Olympics.

Sent only two athletes in Atlanta and only one of them competed. Majdi Abu Maybe, who had a full-time job in force17 -Arafat's secret services- finished last in the first round of men 10000m.


Sent two other athletes in Sydney - swimmer Samar Nassar and race walker Rami Abdel Hamid Deib. The Athens delegation was composed of three athletes, including a woman flag bearer: Sanaa Abu Bkheet, a 19-year-old 800m runner.

For years, Israel has blocked any recognition of "Palestine" claiming that it was not a sovereign nation, yet non-sovereign nations as Puerto Rico, for example, which is a U.S. territory, has a tradition of participating.

QATAR

22 athletes. Qatar boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow. First competition in 1984. In 1992, Mohamed Sulaiman finished third in the 1500m, & Qatar to win its first Olympic medal.

 


In Sydney, weightlifter Saif Saeed Asad (one of eight former Bulgarian weightlifters that Qatar bought for a reported $ 1 million) won the bronze in men 105kg/231 lbs division. He was formerly known as Angel Popov.

Many nations attract athletes and give them citizenship, but Qatar is often referred to by major U.S. media, which has an anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias, as the country that "bought" eight Bulgarian weightlifters before the Sydney Games 2000, resulting in a bronze medal. In 2004, several African runners have requested and received the Qatari citizenship.

One of its best gold medal prospects has been Saif Saeed Shaheen, world champion in 2003 steeplechase, a Kenyan who became a Qatari citizen two weeks before the 2003 World Championships. But Shaheen has not received permission from the Kenya National Olympic Committee to compete for Qatar in Athens.

 
Doha offered to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016, but was eliminated in June 2008, a negative result of a campaign of Western media.

SAUDI ARABIA


17 athletes. Started in 1972 and has since only missed the 1980 Moscow Games. Is the first country to announce its boycott of the 1980 Games in response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the statement has come two weeks before Jimmy Carter announced the U.S. boycott.

After sending nine athletes in Barcelona, Saudi Arabia sent a team of 35 competitors, all men in Atlanta. Won its first Olympic medal in Sydney Games in 2000. Hadi Souan Somayli won the first medal, silver, in the men 400m hurdles. Khaled Al Eid later won the bronze in the individual jumping equestrian competition. Has not win a medal in Athens.

Newscasters always mentions that his team is "all men." Women are banned to participate by the Saudi Arabian government, but many other countries also have teams which are also all male only.

SOMALIA


2 athletes. Somalia has never won an Olympic medal. Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow. The country's best hope in Atlanta, Abdi Bile, the World Champion from 1987 to 1500 m, finished sixth in the final. Somalia has sent two athletes to the Biejing Olympics, Samiyo Yusuf, a young teenage woman who competes in the 800m race for women, and Abdinasir Saeed, a young man in his early twenties who will compete in the 5000m race for men.

SUDAN - 9 athletes. Sudan has never won an Olympic gold medal since its first participation in 1960. It first participated at the Games of 1972, when the men's soccer team qualified. Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow.

TUNISIA - 4 athletes. Won six medals at the Olympics, four of them by distance runner Mohamed Gammoudi - in 1964, a silver medal in the 10000m; in 1968, a gold medal at 5000m and a bronze in the 10000m; and in 1972, a silver in the 5000m. Gammoudi was one of the six men who won several medals in the 5000m and 10000m.

Was one of two Arab nations and four African countries to attend the opening ceremony of the Games of Montreal in 1976, then joined a 22-nation African boycott of the Olympics. Boycotted in 1980. After failing to win a medal in Barcelona, Tunisia won a bronze medal in boxing thanks to Fathi Missaoui. Tunisia’s last Olympic medal came in 1996.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - 8 athletes. First debut was in 1980, but did not compete in Moscow. Made its official Olympic debut in 1984. In 2004 in Athens, the shooter Ahmed Al-Maktoum won the first gold medal in men's double trap. Latifah Al-Makthoum was competing in show jumping (riding).



Maitha Al-Makthoum was competing in taekwondo. Maitha is the daughter of Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Makthouhm ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates and Latifah is his niece. NBC Sports Journalists said that the two are Al-Makthoum girls.

 YEMEN



5 athletes. Until 1990, Yemen was divided. Yemen has made its Olympic debut as a unified country in Barcelona.

South Yemen has boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and made its first appearance in Seoul with six athletes. North Yemen began by sending two athletes to Los Angeles in 1984 and has sent 11 athletes to Seoul, where one of them made headlines. Alizani Abdallah, a Greco-Roman wrestler, was estimated to become the first Arab athlete to follow up the Arab policy by not participating in face-to-face competitions with Israelis. Alizani failed to appear in his first match against the series of Dov Grobermann, which won a victory by package.

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