The following table lists the first Olympic gold medal won by each National Olympic Committee (NOC).
James Brendan Connolly of the United States is credited as the first ever gold medalist of the modern Olympic Games. [1]
In some cases, a NOC may garner multiple gold medals in the same edition where it won its first ever gold medal. Scheduling of events is a factor that plays a part in who is considered the first Olympic gold medalist for a nation.
Names in italic are national entities that no longer exist.
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, and commonly known as Tokyo 1964, were an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 9 to 24 October. A total of 5,151 athletes representing 93 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated. The games featured 163 events across 19 sports and 24 disciplines. Two new sports were introduced to the Summer Olympic Games program in Tokyo: judo and volleyball. The inclusion of volleyball marked the first time that a women's team sport had been introduced.
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. A total of 694 athletes representing 30 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games, taking part in 22 events from 6 sports.
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, becoming the first Asian nation to do so. Norman Pritchard represented the country and won two medals, both silver, in athletics. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has competed at several Winter Olympic Games after its debut in 1964.
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2024, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as official Games. The IOC itself does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database.
Russia, referred to by its formal name; the Russian Federation, by the International Olympic Committee, has competed at the modern Olympic Games on many occasions, but as different nations in its history. As the Russian Empire, the nation first competed at the 1900 Games, and returned again in 1908 and 1912. After the Russian revolution in 1917, and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, it would be thirty years until Russian athletes once again competed at the Olympics, as the Soviet Union at the 1952 Summer Olympics. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992, and finally returned once again as Russia at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Singapore has sent athletes to the celebration of the Olympic Games since 1948, when it was established as a separate British crown colony from the Straits Settlements just over three months before the commencement of the 1948 Summer Olympics. It continued to send a team to the Games until 1964 when the Singaporean delegation competed with Malaysia, which sent a combined team.
The Philippines has competed in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games since its debut in the 1924 edition, except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Filipino athletes have also competed at the Winter Olympic Games on six occasions since 1972.
Colombia first formally participated at the Olympic Games in 1932, and has sent athletes to compete in all but one edition of the Summer Olympic Games since then, missing only the 1952 Games. Colombian athletes have won a total of 38 Olympic medals in eight different sports, with weightlifting and cycling as the most successful ones. Colombia is the third most successful South American country at the Olympic Games, after Brazil and Argentina respectively. The Colombian Olympic Committee was created in 1936 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1948.
Tunisia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The nation has never participated in any Winter Olympic Games.
Malaysia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1956, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except when Malaysia participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. Malaysia made their debut at the Winter Olympic Games in 2018.
Botswana has competed in 11 Summer Olympics, and their first Olympic game was at the 1980 Summer Olympics. They have never participated in a Winter Olympics.
Kosovo made its Olympic debut as a member state in 2016. Its team is organized by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (OCK), created in 1992 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 9 December 2014. It won its first medal in its debut appearance in 2016, when judoka Majlinda Kelmendi took gold in the women's -52 kg category. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nora Gjakova won gold in the women's judo -57 kg class, and Distria Krasniqi won gold in the women's judo -48 kg class.
India first participated in the 1968 Summer Paralympics. The nation has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984. The Paris 2024 Games marked India's 13th appearance at the Paralympics. The country has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.
The rate of participation of women in the Olympic Games has been increasing since their first participation in 1900. Some sports are uniquely for women, others are contested by both sexes, while some older sports remain for men only. Studies of media coverage of the Olympics consistently show differences in the ways in which women and men are described and the ways in which their performances are discussed. The representation of women on the International Olympic Committee has historically run well behind the rate of female participation, and long missed its target of a 20% minimum presence of women on their committee. As of 2023, 41.1% of members are women. The 2024 Paris Olympics were notable for being the first to have the goal of achieving gender parity between men and women.
The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which the U.S. boycotted in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The opening ceremony flag-bearers for the United States were baseball player Eddy Alvarez and basketball player Sue Bird. Javelin thrower Kara Winger was the flag-bearer for the closing ceremony. For the third consecutive time in the Summer Olympics, the United States was represented by more female than male athletes.
The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 23 July to 8 August 2021. The Games were postponed by one year as part of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports. However, the Games was referred to by its original date in all medals, uniforms, promotional items, and other related media in order to avoid confusion in future years. A total of 11,417 athletes from 206 nations participated in 339 events in 33 sports across 50 different disciplines.
India competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. India made its official debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics and has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984.
On 6 April 1896, the American James Connolly won the triple jump to become the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years. He also finished second in the high jump and third in the long jump.
On 9 April 1896, Carl Schuhmann won the vault and thus became the first German Olympic champion.
Spain's first Olympic medal, a gold, came at the 1900 Games in Paris in the sport of Basque pelota. The sport originates from the Basque area of northern Spain and southern France and was never again contested at the Olympic Games.
All the more is the figure skater Nikolai Panin held in esteem, who in 1908 in London was the first Russian sportsman to win an Olympic gold medal.
Nina Ponomareva, a champion discus thrower who earned the Soviet Union its first Olympic gold medal when she competed in the 1952 Helsinki Games
Iran secured its first Olympic gold medals at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, where freestyle wrestlers Emamali Habibi [66kg] and Gholamreza Takhti [90kg] both won their divisions.
Emamali Habibi became Iran's first Olympic wrestling champion in Melbourne, Australia in 1956 and his achievement was matched one day later by Gholamreza Takhti.
Taiwan Winter Olympics Boycott.
For us Indonesians, Susy Susanti will always be remembered as the first Indonesian Olympic gold medalist, a prestigious honor she won at the Barcelona Summer Olympics in 1992", "Susy's significant other, Alan Budikusuma, won the gold medal in the men's singles following her victory.
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