South Sudan first participated at the Olympic Games as an independent nation in 2016, and has sent athletes to compete in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games since then. Currently, no athlete from South Sudan has ever won a single Olympic medal.
History[]
South Sudan was part of Sudan until 2011, when it gained independence after a referendum. Sudan has competed at the Summer Olympic Games since 1960. Under IOC rules, the South Sudan National Olympic Committee was not eligible for IOC membership until national sports federations had joined both the NOC and the corresponding international federation of five Olympic sports. Guor Marial competed as part of the Independent Olympic Athletes at London 2012, finishing forty-seventh in the men's marathon.[1][2] By 2015, Sudanese federations were recognized in athletics, basketball, football, handball, judo, table tennis and taekwondo. The South Sudan NOC was founded by representatives of these sports on 8 June 2015. After a recommendation by its executive board, the IOC admitted the NOC at its session in Kuala Lumpur by acclamation.[2]
2016 South Sudanese Refugee Athletes[]
Over twenty athletes from South Sudan trained in Kenya for participation in Rio de Janeiro 2016 under Olympic flag refugee status. The Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation provided training facilities in partnership with the International Olympic Committee and UN HCR and negotiations are underway to regularize participation by the South Sudanese government. Ultimately, a total of five South Sudanese athletes were selected to compete as part of the Refugee Olympic Team at their Olympic debut in 2016, alongside five other refugee athletes from other counties.
Medal table[]
Medals by Summer Games[]
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London 2012 | Competed as part of the Independent Olympic Athletes | |||||
| Rio de Janeiro 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Tokyo 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
References[]
- ↑ Zaccardi, Nick. "OlympicTalk: South Sudan set for Olympic recognition", NBS Sports, NBC, 28 July 2015. Retrieved on 1 September 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Westcott, Lucy. "South Sudan Becomes 206th Olympic Country in Emotional Ceremony", Newsweek, 3 August 2015. Retrieved on 1 September 2015.