Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 has competed in 12 Summer Games

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

. They have never appeared in any Winter Games

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

.

The country made its first appearance

Afghanistan at the 1936 Summer Olympics

Afghanistan first competed at the Summer Olympic Games at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.- Athletics :Men's 100 metres* Mohd Mohammad Khan** sixth and last in heat 3Men's long jump* Mohd Mohammad Khan...

 at the Berlin Games in 1936

1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

. It has sent a delegation to most Summer Games since then.

Afghanistan did not send a team to the Barcelona Games in 1992

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

, and sent only two representatives

Afghanistan at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Afghanistan competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The Central Asian nation returned to the Olympic Games after missing the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona....

 to the Atlanta Games in 1996

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

. 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

Abdul Baser Wasiqi

Abdul Baser Wasiqi is an Afghan athlete.Wasiqi represented Afghanistan at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He injured his leg before the marathon, but took part nonetheless. He completed the race despite his injury, after limping the whole way, with a time of 4:24:17, well short of his...

 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. 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

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. The country was re-instated in 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, and sent five representatives

Afghanistan at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Afghanistan returned to the Olympic Games at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Afghanistan was banned from Olympic competition in 1999, during Taliban rule, but was reinstated in 2002. At the 2004 Games, female athletes represented Afghanistan for the first time in the country's history...

 to the Athens Games in 2004

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

. Among them were two women, Robina Muqim Yaar and Friba Razayee

Friba Razayee

Friba Rezayee is an Afghan judoka. In 2004, along with Robina Muqimyar, she was the first Afghan woman to participate in the Olympic Games....

, the first ever women to compete for Afghanistan at the Olympics.

Afghanistan sent a team of four competitors

Afghanistan at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Afghanistan sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The team consisted of three men and one woman. Initially, Mehboba Ahdyar prepared to run the 800 metres and 1500 metres, but left her training camp on June 4 to seek political asylum in Norway.The country was...

, including three men and one woman, Mehboba Ahdyar

Mehboba Ahdyar

Mehboba Ahdyar, born in 1988 or 1989, is an Afghan athlete. She was scheduled to be the only woman representing Afghanistan at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she planned to compete in athletics in the women's 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres events....

, to the Beijing Games of 2008

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

. Ahdyar has received death threats due to her intended participation in the Games.

Afghanistan won their first summer Olympic medal during the 2008 Beijing games, with Rohullah Nikpai

Rohullah Nikpai

Rohullah Nikpai is an Afghani taekwondo practitioner.-Career:Of Hazara origin, Nikpai started his training in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the age of 10. During the bloody conflict over the capital city, his family left the city and settled in one of Iran's many Afghan refugee camps. He soon became a...

 winning a bronze in men's Taekwondo 58 kg. Afghanistan has never won a silver or gold medal.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event
		2008 Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...	Taekwondo Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 20 to August 23 at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. 128 Taekwondo practitioners, 64 men and 64 women, competed in 8 events...	Men's 58 kg

Medals by Games

1936 Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...	0	0	0	0
1948 London 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...	0	0	0	0
1952 Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...	did not participate
1956 Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...	0	0	0	0
1960 Rome 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...	0	0	0	0
1964 Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...	0	0	0	0
1968 Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...	0	0	0	0
1972 Munich 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....	0	0	0	0
1976 Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...	did not participate
1980 Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...	0	0	0	0
1984 Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...	did not participate
1988 Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...	0	0	0	0
1992 Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...	did not participate
1996 Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....	0	0	0	0
2000 Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...	did not participate1
2004 Athens 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...	0	0	0	0
2008 Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...	0	0	1	1
2012 London 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	1	1

¹Afghanistan was banned from the Olympics in 1999 for its discrimination against women under the Taliban regime at the time.

Medals by sport

Taekwondo Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics Taekwondo made its first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison. Taekwondo was again a...	0	0	1	1
Total	0	0	1	1