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Marshall Islands at the Olympics

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Marshall Islands at the
Olympics
Flag of the Marshall Islands
IOC codeMHL
NOCMarshall Islands National Olympic Committee
Websitewww.oceaniasport.com/marshalls
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer appearances

The Marshall Islands first competed in the Olympic Games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.[1] They have participated in every edition of the Summer Games since, but have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games.

The Marshall Islands have fielded athletes in swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and athletics. The highest number of Marshallese athletes participating in a Summer Games is five at both the 2008 Games in Beijing and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. No athlete from the Marshall Islands has ever won a medal at the Olympics.

Background

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The Marshall Islands are a Micronesian island nation, located in the western Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. As of 2008 the island had a population of approximately 60,000. The island nation was controlled by the United States, and prior to that by Japan and Germany at different times in its history, until gaining its sovereignty. In 1979, the Government of the Marshall Islands was officially established and the country became self-governing. In 1986 the Compact of Free Association with the United States entered into force, granting the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) its sovereignty. The island nation is made up of twenty-nine atolls and five single islands.[2][3]

The Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee was created in 2001, and gained recognition by the International Olympic Committee at their meeting in 2006. The Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee brought the total number of NOC's to 203 at the time of their admittance.[4][5][6]

Olympic overview

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2008 Summer Olympics

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The swimming events for the 2008 Summer Olympics were held at the Beijing National Aquatics Center.
Main article: Marshall Islands at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The Marshall Islands debuted at the 2008 Summer Olympic in Beijing, China, with five athletes competing in three sports. Roman William Cress and Haley Nemra represented the nation in the track and field events. Jared Heine and Julianne Kirchner competed in the swimming events. Anju Jason, who competed in taekwondo at the Games, is the only Marshallese athlete to have competed in taekwondo at the Olympics as of the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7] Bar Jason, who defeated a competitor from Samoa at the qualification tournament in New Caledonia, all were wildcard entries, having failed to meet the qualification criteria for their respective events.[8][9]

Both Cress and Nemra failed to advance from their track and field heats:[10] Cress finished eighth out of the nine athletes in his men's 100m heat with a time of 11.12 seconds,[11] while Nemra finished seventh out of the eight athletes in her women's 800m heat in 2:18.83.[12] Neither Heine or Kirchner managed to advance from their respective heats: Heine finished third in his men's 100m backstroke heat in a time of 58.86, placing forty-third in the standings;[13] meanwhile Kirchner finished fourth in her women's 50 meter freestyle heat in a time of 30.42, placing seventy-fifth in the standings.[14] Anju Jason competed in the men's welterweight division, where he was one of six athletes eliminated in tier eleven.[15]

2012 Summer Olympics

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Main article: Marshall Islands at the 2012 Summer Olympics

The Marshall Islands sent four athletes to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Timi Garstang and Haley Nemra competed in the track and field events and Giordan Harris and Ann-Marie Hepler represented the nation in swimming at the Games. Before competing in the 2012 Summer Games, the Marshallese delegation attended a training camp in Australia for a month.[16][17]

2016 Summer Olympics

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Main article: Marshall Islands at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Five athletes from the Marshall Islands took part in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Richson Simeon and Mariana Cress represented the nation in the track and field events. Giordan Harris and Colleen Furgeson competed in the swimming events. Mathlynn Sasser, who took part in weightlifting at the Games, was the first (and, as of the 2016 Games, only) Marshallese athlete to compete in weightlifting at the Olympics.[18][16][19]

2020 Summer Olympics

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Main article: Marshall Islands at the 2020 Summer Olympics

2024 Summer Olympics

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Main article: Marshall Islands at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Medal tables

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See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Medals by Summer Games

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Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
2008 Beijing 5 0 0 0 0 –
2012 London 4 0 0 0 0 –
2016 Rio de Janeiro 5 0 0 0 0 –
2020 Tokyo 2 0 0 0 0 –
2024 Paris 4 0 0 0 0 –
2028 Los Angeles future event
2032 Brisbane
Total 0 0 0 0 –

Flagbearers

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Summer Olympics
Games Athlete Sport Notes
2008 Beijing Waylon Muller Judo [20]
2012 London Haley Nemra Athletics
2016 Rio de Janeiro Mathlynn Sasser Weightlifting [21]
2020 Tokyo Colleen Furgeson
Phillip Kinono 		Swimming
2024 Paris William Reed Athletics [22]
Mathlynn Sasser Weightlifting

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2008 Beijing Summer Olympics | Marshall Islands , Country Profile, Olympic Tradition | Outlook, Medal Count | NBC Olympics". August 24, 2008. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "2008 Summer Olympics Country Profile". NBC Olympics. NBCOlympics.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Marshall Islands Ready to Join Olympics". SF Gate. October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Marshall Islands – National Olympic Committee (NOC)". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "2008 Beijing Summer Olympics | Marshall Islands , Country Profile, Olympic Tradition | Outlook, Medal Count | NBC Olympics". August 24, 2008. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  6. ^ "About MINOC – Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee – SportsTG". SportsTG. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  7. ^ "Marshall Islands at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  8. ^ Longman, Jeré (August 5, 2008). "For the Marshall Islands, a Debut on a World Stage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "Panda Express' Anju Jason Qualifies for Beijing Olympics". Panda Express. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  10. ^ "Olympic Games 2008 - Startlist 100 Metres M Heats". IAAF Athletics. September 4, 2008. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ "Athletics at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Men's 100 metres". Sports-Reference. March 5, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  12. ^ "Athletics at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Women's 800 metres". Sports-Reference. November 16, 2015. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  13. ^ "Swimming at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Men's 100 metres Backstroke Round One". November 24, 2015. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  14. ^ "Swimming at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Women's 50 metres Freestyle Round One". February 23, 2016. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  15. ^ "Anju Jason Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports-Reference. March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Marshall Islands at the 2012 London Summer Games | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". March 5, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  17. ^ "Marshall Islands athletes train in Australia for Olympics | Pacific Beat | ABC Radio Australia". April 5, 2014. Archived from the original on April 5, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ Sportsencyclo. "Marshallese athletes in the Beijing 2008 Olympics". www.olympiandatabase.com. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  19. ^ Sportsencyclo. "Marshallese athletes in the Rio 2016 Olympics". www.olympiandatabase.com. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  20. ^ "Olympic History of Marshall Islands". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  21. ^ "The Flagbearers for the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony". International Olympic Committee. January 24, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  22. ^ Pick, Oscar (July 26, 2024). "Every Olympic flagbearer for Paris 2024 opening ceremony as Tom Daley and LeBron James take stage". The Independent. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
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