Mediterranean Games

Last updated
Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games rings.svg
Official logo of the Games
First event 1951 Mediterranean Games in Alexandria, Egypt
Occur everyFour years
Last event 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria
Next event 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy
Purpose Multi-sport event for nations on the Mediterranean Sea
President Davide Tizzano
Website www.cijm.org.gr OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The first Mediterranean Games were held in 1951 in Alexandria, Egypt, while the most recent games were held in 2022 in Oran, Algeria.

Contents

History

The idea was proposed at the 1948 Summer Olympics by Muhammed Taher Pasha, chairman of the Egyptian Olympic Committee and vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.), assisted by the Greek member of the I.O.C. Ioannis Ketseas. [1] Separate Mediterranean sports events preceded the games. From 1947 to 1949, the Mediterranean Athletics Championships were contested, [2] [3] and the Mediterranean Cup football competition was held in 1949 and 1950. [4] The first official Mediterranean Games were held in Egypt in 1951.

The Games were inaugurated in October 1951, in Alexandria, Egypt, in honour of Muhammed Taher Pasha, with contests being held in 13 sports along with the participation of 734 athletes from 10 countries. In 1955, in Barcelona, during the II Games, the set up was decided of a Supervisory and Controlling Body for the Games, a kind of Executive Committee. The decisions were finally materialized on 16 June 1961, and the said Body was named, upon a Greek notion, ICMG (International Committee for the Mediterranean Games). Twelve countries have hosted the Mediterranean Games: four from Africa: Egypt (1951), Tunisia (1967, 2001), Algeria (1975, 2022) and Morocco (1983); six from Europe: Spain (1955, 2005, 2018), Italy (1963, 1997, 2009), Turkey (1971, 2013), Yugoslavia (1979), Greece (1991) and France (1993) and two from Asia: Lebanon (1959) and Syria (1987).

The first eleven games took place one year before the Summer Olympic Games. Since 1993, games have been held the year after the Olympic Games. This transition means that the only time the Mediterranean Games were not held four years after the previous Games was in 1993, when Languedoc-Roussillon in France hosted the Games just two years after Athens. In 2018, the Mediterranean Games calendar was reset again when Tarragona hosted the Games in the mid-even year between the Summer Olympic Games (and the same year as the FIFA Men's World Cup).

Description

The Mediterranean Games, in terms of the preparation and composition of the National Delegation, are held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC).

Athens is the permanent seat of the ICMG (regardless of who the President might be) and the committee's General Secretary is Greek. This comes as a further tribute to Greece, highlighting its leading role with regard to the function and strengthening of the institution. Except that Greece bailed out of its 2013 Mediterranean Games commitment when the two cities of Volos and Larissa were supposed to host the 2013 edition of the Games. But because of Greece's financial troubles, they had to give that up and the 2013 honors went instead to Turkey, with the city of Mersin rescuing the 2013 edition of the Games instead.

Participating countries

Participating countries Partecipanti GdM.png
Participating countries

At present, 26 countries participate in the games: [5]

Kosovo was accepted as a member of the International Committee of Mediterranean Games in October 2015 and participated for the first time in the 2018 Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain. [6] One athlete representing the Vatican City participated in an unofficial ("non-scoring") manner in the women's half marathon event at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria. [7]

Of all the National Olympic Committees within the Olympic Movement bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Palestine have not participated in the games, nor has Great Britain who represents the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

In the case of Israel, Allen Guttman in The Games Must Go On argued that Israel's exclusion is both antisemitic and politically motivated due to antagonism towards Israel by the participating Muslim and Arab nations. The IOC's Avery Brundage was not supportive of Israel's desire to compete, saying: "I cannot understand why anyone wants to go where he is not wanted". The International Amateur Athletics Federation pushed the issue at the 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut by refusing to grant permission to hold an athletics competition unless Israel were allowed to compete. Lebanese games organizer Gabriel Gemayel conceded to this, but sidestepped the ruling by holding a parallel Lebanese Games comprising athletics events between the present nations alongside the official Mediterranean Games competitions. [8] In September 2023, European Olympic Committees president Spyros Capralos called on the International Committee of Mediterranean Games to open a discussion about admitting both Israel and Palestine as members. [9]

There are countries not bordering the Mediterranean Sea which nonetheless participate: Portugal, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Serbia and North Macedonia. Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia were all formerly part of Yugoslavia, which competed until its breakup and dissolution.[ citation needed ]

The Hellenic Olympic Committee has suggested that nine more countries that do not satisfy geographic criteria could be allowed to participate, such as Bulgaria, and some Arab countries such as Jordan and Iraq.[ citation needed ] Portugal competed in the 2018 Mediterranean Games after a decision which approved Portugal as effective National Olympic Committee. [10] [11]

Flag

Flag of the Mediterranean Games Mediterranean games logo.gif
Flag of the Mediterranean Games

The symbol of the Mediterranean Games consists of three rings representing Asia, Africa and Europe, the three continents involved in this competition. [12] The rings dissolve in a wavy line in their lower part, as if they were immersed in the Mediterranean Sea. During the closing ceremony, the flag is transferred to the country of the city chosen to host the next Mediterranean Games. [12]

Hosts

All host cities have been coastal and all but one on the Mediterranean coast (Casablanca is on the Atlantic coast).

Cities that have hosted the Games Edizioni gdm.png
Cities that have hosted the Games
NoYearHost CityDatesOpened byNationsCompetitorsSportsEventsTop Country On
Medal Table
MenWomenTotal
1 1951 Flag of Egypt (1922-1958).svg Alexandria 5 - 20 October Farouk I 10734---7341491Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
2 1955 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Barcelona 15 - 25 July Francisco Franco 101135---113520102Flag of France.svg  France
3 1959 Flag of Lebanon.svg Beirut 11 - 23 October Fuad Chehab 11792---79217106Flag of France.svg  France
4 1963 Flag of Italy.svg Naples 21 - 29 September Antonio Segni 131057---10571793Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
5 1967 Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunis 8 - 17 September Habib Bourguiba 1212113812491493Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
6 1971 Flag of Turkey.svg İzmir 6 - 17 October Cevdet Sunay 141235127136218137Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
7 1975 Flag of Algeria.svg Algiers 23 August - 6 September Houari Boumédiène 152095349244419160Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
8 1979 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Split 15 - 29 September Josip Broz Tito 142009399240826192Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia
9 1983 Flag of Morocco.svg Casablanca 3 - 17 September Hassan II 161845335218020162Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
10 1987 Flag of Syria.svg Latakia 11 - 25 September Hafez al-Assad 181529467199619162Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
11 1991 Flag of Greece.svg Athens 28 June - 12 July Konstantinos Karamanlis 182176586276224217Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
12 1993 Flag of France.svg Languedoc-Roussillon 16 - 27 June François Mitterrand 191994604259824217Flag of France.svg  France
13 1997 Flag of Italy.svg Bari 13 - 25 June Oscar Luigi Scalfaro 212166790295627234Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
14 2001 Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunis 2 - 15 September Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 23 [13] 19721019299123230Flag of France.svg  France
15 2005 Flag of Spain.svg Almería 24 June - 3 July Juan Carlos I 2121261077320327258Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
16 2009 Flag of Italy.svg Pescara 25 June - 5 July Renato Schifani 2321831185336828244Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
17 2013 Flag of Turkey.svg Mersin 20 - 30 June Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 2419941070306427264Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
18 2018 Flag of Spain.svg Tarragona 22 June - 1 July Felipe VI 2621801468364828246Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
19 2022 Flag of Algeria.svg Oran 25 June - 6 July Abdelmadjid Tebboune 2620141284329824244Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
20 2026 Flag of Italy.svg Taranto 23 August - 3 September President of Italy (expected)Future Event
21 2030 Flag of Kosovo.svg Pristina 24 July - 4 August President of Kosovo (expected)Future Event
Notes

    All-time medal table

    Medal Table 1951–2022

    RankTeamGamesGoldSilverBronzeTotal
    1Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 199247917472462 [14]
    2Flag of France.svg  France 196526005691821 [14]
    3Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 19384269314967 [14]
    4Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 193454745691388 [14]
    5Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 19200257349806 [14]
    6Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia*12199177182558 [14]
    7Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 17156209255620 [14]
    8Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 1789101159349 [14]
    9Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 158676131293 [14]
    10Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 177290116278 [14]
    11Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 8576979205 [14]
    12Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 8556499218 [14]
    13Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 5545158163 [14]
    14Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 17324276150 [14]
    15Flag of the United Arab Republic.svg  United Arab Republic**123213074 [14]
    16Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 1119212565 [14]
    17Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 1011191848 [14]
    18Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 1810234275 [14]
    19Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 210182149 [14]
    20Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8682539 [14]
    21Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 261310 [14]
    22Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 10510823 [14]
    23Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 4481022 [14]
    24Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 332914 [14]
    25Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 13211417 [14]
    26Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 191449 [14]
    27Flag of Monaco.svg  Monaco 151315 [14]
    28Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra 50000 [14]
    29Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan***10000 [14]
    Total1934083409391410731

    - Yugoslavia competed in 1997 and 2001 as FR Yugoslavia. [15]

    - Serbia competed in 2005 as Serbia and Montenegro.

    Doping

    Changes by Doping:

    1. Nurcan Taylan - Weightlifting at the 2009 Mediterranean Games - 53 kg Women - 2 Gold
    2. Gülcan Mıngır - Athletics at the 2013 Mediterranean Games – Results - 3000m Steeplechase Women - 1 Bronze

    Competitions

    Throughout the history of the Mediterranean Games, 33 different sports have been presented.

    SportYears
    Archery pictogram.svg Archery Since 1971
    Athletics pictogram.svg Athletics Since 1951
    Badminton pictogram.svg Badminton Since 2013
    Basketball pictogram.svg Basketball Since 1951
    Volleyball (beach) pictogram.svg Beach volleyball Since 2005
    Bocce pictogram.svg Bocce Since 1997
    Boxing pictogram.svg Boxing Since 1951
    Canoeing pictogram.svg Canoeing Since 1979
    Cycling pictogram.svg Cycling Since 1955
    Diving pictogram.svg Diving Since 1951
    Equestrian pictogram.svg Equestrian Since 1955
    SportYears
    Fencing pictogram.svg Fencing Since 1951
    Field hockey pictogram.svg Field hockey Since 1955
    Football pictogram.svg Football Since 1951
    Golf pictogram.svg Golf Since 1983
    Gymnastics pictogram.svg Gymnastics Since 1951
    Handball pictogram.svg Handball Since 1967
    Judo pictogram.svg Judo Since 1971
    Karate pictogram.svg Karate Since 1993
    Roller hockey pictogram.svg Roller hockey Since 1955
    Rowing pictogram.svg Rowing Since 1951
    Rugby pictogram.svg Rugby union Since 1955
    SportYears
    Sailing pictogram.svg Sailing Since 1955
    Shooting pictogram.svg Shooting Since 1951
    Swimming pictogram.svg Swimming Since 1951
    Table tennis pictogram.svg Table tennis Since 1971
    Taekwondo pictogram.svg Taekwondo Since 2013
    Tennis pictogram.svg Tennis Since 1963
    Volleyball pictogram.svg Volleyball Since 1959
    Water polo pictogram.svg Water polo Since 1951
    Water skiing pictogram.svg Waterskiing Since 2009
    Weightlifting pictogram.svg Weightlifting Since 1951
    Wrestling pictogram.svg Wrestling Since 1951

    See also

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