Olympic Games – Facts & Figures

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Cecilia Tait Villacorta went to the Olympics in 1988 in Seoul (South Korea) with the Peruvian volleyball team. Under the leadership of Cecilia, Peru won the silver medal in women’s volleyball. In Korea, she was considered as the best female volleyball player in the world.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Iceland has never an Olympic gold medal.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Japanese delegation got a total of 18 medals in the Sydney 2000 Olympiad: five gold, eight silver and five bonze, ending 15th in the final medal table.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…The first time that Burkina Faso (ex-French colony in Africa) had its own delegation at the Olympic Games was in 1972 in Munich, West Germany.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Kiribati (pronounced Kiribass) competed at the modern Olympic Games for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens,Greece. The national team had two sprinters (Kakianako Nariki and Kaitinano Mwemweata) and a weightlifter (Meamea Thomas).

DID YOU KNOW THAT…the athlete Esther Brand captured the gold medal in the high jump at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, becoming the first woman from an African country to win an Olympic medal. She was born in South Africa.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…In 1984, the United States won its first Olympic gold medal in men`s volleyball and successfully defended its gold in 1988.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…India finished 72nd position in the medal final table at the 1996 Olympic Games.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…The U.S.baseball team won the gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The Olympic champions were: Mike Kinkade, Marcus Jensen, Shane Heams, Chris George, Ryan Franklin, Adams Everett, Travis Dawkins, John Cotton, Sean Burroughs, Pat Borders, Brent Abernathy, Kurt Ainsworth, Rick Krivda, Doug Mientkiewcz, Mike Neill, Roy Oswalt, Jon Rauch, Anthony Sanders, Bobby Seay, Dean Sheets, Brad Wilkerson, Tim Young, Todd Williams and Ernie Young.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Angola sent 29 athletes to the 1988 Olympic Games, which were held in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Helmut Bellingrodt became the first Colombian athlete to win an Olympic medal in shooting.He won a silver medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Germany.Like Ximena Restrepo (athletics), Pablo Restrepo (swimming), Maria Isabel Urrutia (weightlifting), Carlos Valderrama (football), Martin Emilio Rodriguez (cycling) and Bernardo Tovar (shooting), Helmut Bellingrondt was one of the greatest Colombian athletes of the 20th century.

DID YOU KNOW THAT….Puerto Rico sent 3 boxers to the 1980 Olympic Games, which were held in Moscow, URSS. They were Alberto Mercado (gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games), Luis Pizarro and Jose Angel Molina.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…The first time that Koreans participated at the Olympic Games was in 1936 in Berlin (Germany), when Koreans were part of the Japanese delegation. In these Games, Sohn Kee-Chung won the gold medal in the marathon.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…The first Turkish to ever win a gold medal at the Olympic Games was Yasar Erkan in 1936 for wrestling. He is considered among Turkey´s national heroes.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…One of the most famous athletes in Moroccan history is Nawal El Moutawakel. She won the gold medal in the women`s 400 m hurdles at the 1984 Olympics. Nawal became the first Arab woman Olympic gold medalist and an example for women in her native country.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Brazil won the gold medal in men`s volleyball in the XXIV Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. The Brazilian Olympic team defeated Holland 3-0 in the final. The Olympic champions were: Marcelo Negrao, Jorge Edson Brito, Giovanne Gavio, Paulo Andre Silva, Mauricio Lima, Janelson Carvalho, Douglas Chiarotti, Antonio Carlos Gouveia, Talmo Oliveira, Amauri Ribeiro, Alexandre Samuel and Andre Felippe Ferreira.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Ethiopia is famous in history as the birthplace of Haile Gebrselassie, one of the best runners of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has won two Olympic 10,000 m titles. He is an Olympic symbol in Africa.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…The athlete Maria de Lourdes Mutola finished 22nd in the women´s 800 meters at the 1988 Olympic Games. After she was one of the world´s most famous runners in the 1990s and early 2000s. Maria was born in Mozambique.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Turkey has competed in the Olympic Games 19 times and has won a total of 74 medals. It has more Olympic medals that Ireland (20), India (17), Peru (4), Taiwan (15), Saudi Arabia (2) and Malaysia (3) combined.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Burma (currently Myanmar) sent 2 athletes to the 1980 Olympic Games, which were held in Moscow, URSS. They were Soe Khin (athletics) and Myint Sann (weightlifting).

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Bolivia has never won an Olympic medal.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…Zimbabwe (formerly known as Rhodesia) won the first-ever gold medal in women’s field hockey in the Olympic Games in Moscow defeating Austria 4-1 in the championship game.