Gambia took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China from 8 to 24 August 2008.[1] It was Gambia's seventh appearance in the summer Olympics since its debut in 1984.[2] The Gambia team included three athletes; runners Suwaibou Sanneh and Fatou Tiyana as well as boxer Badou Jack.[3] Jack, a middleweight at his first Olympics,[4] was selected as flag bearer for both the opening[5] and closing ceremonies.[6] None of the Gambia athletes progressed further than the qualifying heats.[7][8]
| The Gambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | GAM |
| NOC | Gambia National Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Beijing | |
| Competitors | 3 in 2 sports |
| Flag bearer | Badou Jack |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Background edit
Gambia had participated in six previous Summer Olympics, between its debut in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[2] At its debut, the country sent ten athletes to the games, all of whom competed in athletics.[9] As of 2012, 10 remains the largest number of Gambian athletes participating in the summer games.[2] No Gambian has ever won a summer Olympics medal.[2] Three athletes from Gambia were selected to compete in the 2008 Olympics: Suwaibou Sanneh in the men's track and field 100 metres, Fatou Tiyana in the women's track and field 100 metres and Badou Jack in the men's middleweight boxing competition.[7][8]
Athletics edit
At the 2008 Olympics, Gambia was represented by one male athlete in athletics,[7] 100 metres sprinter Suwaibou Sanneh.[7] At age 17, Sanneh was the country's youngest competitor,[3] and was competing at his first Olympics.[10] He competed on 15 August in Beijing,[11] and finished 5th out of 8 in heat eight.[11] His time of 10.52 seconds placed him 46th out of 80 competitors overall.[12] The fastest athlete was Tyrone Edgar (10.13 seconds) and the slowest athlete that progressed to the semi-finals was Uchenna Emedolu (10.46 seconds).[12] Youssouf, who was 0.06 seconds behind Emedolu, did not progress to the semi-finals.[12]
Competing at her first Olympics,[13] Fatou Tiyana was the only female competing in the track and field events at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Gambia.[3] She competed in the 100 meters on 19 August.[14] Tiyana was drawn into heat seven for the event.[14] She ran a personal best time of 12.25 seconds and finished seventh in her heat, 0.92 seconds behind the winner, Ivet Lalova.[14] She finished 58th out of 85 athletes overall and was 2.55 seconds faster than the slowest athlete, Robina Muqimyar.[15] Tiyana was 1.12 seconds behind the fastest athlete (Oludamola Osayomi) and 0.60 seconds behind the slowest athlete who progressed to the semi-finals, Thi Huong Vu.[15] Therefore, Tiyana did not progress to the semi-finals.[15]
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Suwaibou Sanneh | 100 m | 10.52 | 5 | Did not advance | |||||
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Fatou Tiyana | 100 m | 12.25 | 7 | Did not advance | |||||
Boxing edit
Gambia's only boxer at the Beijing Olympics, Badou Jack, qualified in the middleweight class at the second African continental qualifying tournament.[16] Jack competed at age 24 and was Gambia's oldest competitor.[3] He was selected as the Gambian flag bearer for the opening ceremony.[5] His first fight was against Indian Vijender Singh.[17] Kumar won the fight 13-2 and Jack was eliminated from the competition.[18]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | |||
| Badou Jack | Middleweight |  Singh (IND)L 2–13 |
Did not advance | |||||
References edit
- ^ "Countries Participating in Olympics". Sporting99.com. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Sports Reference – Countries – Gambia". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Sports Reference – Beijing 2008 – Gambia". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Sports Reference – Olympics – Athletes – Gambia – Badou Jack". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b "List of flagbearers Bejing [sic] 2008" (PDF). olympic.org. 8 August 2008. p. 1. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "List of flagbearers Bejing [sic] 2008 - Closing Ceremony" (PDF). olympic.org. 11 September 2009. p. 1. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Sports Reference – Beijing 2008 – Gambia – Athletics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Sports Reference – Beijing 2008 – Gambia – Boxing". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Sports Reference – Los Angeles 1984 – Gambia". Sports Reference. Retrieved 10 November 2014.[dead link]
- ^ "Sports Reference – Olympics – Athletes – Gambia – Suwaibou Sanneh". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b "IAAF – Results – Olympic Games – 2008 – 100 metres – Men – Heats – Result". IAAF. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "IAAF – Results – Olympic Games – 2008 – 100 metres – Men – Heats – Summary". IAAF. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ "Sports Reference – Olympics – Athletes – Gambia – Fatou Tiyana". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ a b c "IAAF – Results – Olympic Games – 2008 – Women – 100 meters – Heats – Results". IAAF. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ a b c "IAAF – Results – Olympic Games – 2008 – Women – 100 meters – Heats – Summary". IAAF. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "Kenya, Ghana & Nigeria top qualifiers at 2nd AIBA Africa Olympic Qualifier". AIBA. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Olympic.org / Results / Beijing 2008 / Boxing / Men / 69–75 kilograms". Olympic.org. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Boxing Men's Middle (75kg) results". Beijing 2008. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
External links edit
- Gambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics at SR/Olympics (archived)