Kuwait at the Olympics
The Kuwait Olympic Committee was established in 1957 and was officially recognized in 1966 by the International Olympic Committee. In 1968, they made their debut in the Summer Games which was held in Mexico City, Mexico, represented by two marathon runners. Kuwait have been present at the majority of the Summer Olympics since then (though missing 2016).
Kuwait are also one of the few countries that attended both of the boycotted 1980 and 1984 Summer Games in Moscow and Los Angeles, California respectively. However, their presence in the Summer Games have been largely uneventful until the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australian when shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani took the bronze in the double trap.
Fehaid Al-Deehani returned for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to take home another bronze, this time in the men's trap. The 2012 performance made Al-Dheehani Kuwait's first and only Olympic multi-medalist.
In 2016, Al-Deehani won gold in the same event, though this time he competed as an Independent Athlete. This was because the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee had been suspended since October 2015 due to interference from the government (they were also suspended in 2010, but the suspension was lifted before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games). A total of nine Kuwaiti athletes competed under the Olympic flag.
Although Al-Deehani is Kuwait's first official Olympic medalist, another Kuwaiti Mohammad Al-Qaimi participated in the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona and won the bronze. Unfortunately, at the time taekwondo was considered a demonstration sport and not an official Olympic event.
Kuwait also has never participated in any of the Winter Olympics.
Related Pages
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Kuwait
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