Hassiba Boulmerka is a former Algerian middle distance athlete. While under threat of death from fanatics, she won Algeria's first Olympic gold medal.
Kim Gevaert is a former sprinter and Olympic champion from Belgium.
Meseret Defar Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5,000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time.
Veronica Campbell Brown CD, OLY is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters. An eight-time Olympic medalist, she is the second of three women in history to win two consecutive Olympic 200 m events, after Bärbel Wöckel of Germany at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and before fellow countrywoman Elaine Thompson-Herah at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Campbell-Brown is one of only eleven athletes to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
Simret Sultan Ghebermichael is an Eritrean long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres and cross-country running. She was born in Mirara. She won the Cross de Atapuerca competition in Spain in 2007. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and was the flag-bearer for her nation during the opening ceremonies of those games.
Afghanistan has competed in 15 Summer Games. They have never appeared in any Winter Games. The country made its first appearance at the Berlin Games in 1936. It has sent a delegation to 14 of the 19 subsequent Summer Games since then. It is organised by the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Committee is currently in exile and presided by Hafizullah Wali Rahimi: the International Olympic Committee has not recognized the Taliban regime's Committee, headed by Ahmadullah Wasiq.
Tuvalu competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. This was the nation's first ever appearance in an Olympic Game. The delegation included two track and field athletes and one weightlifter. Okilani Tinilau and Asenate Manoa participated in athletics while Logona Esau participated in the weightlifting sport. Both track and field athletes achieved national records. Logona Esau led the Tuvaluan squad as the nation's flag bearer in the parade of nations.
Shannon Solares-Rowbury is an American middle-distance runner from San Francisco, California. After competing collegiately for Duke University, she turned professional in 2007. Rowbury has represented the United States at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 2012. She also represented the United States at the World Championships in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, winning the bronze medal in the 1500 meters in 2009. In 2015, Rowbury helped set the world record with the U.S. team for the distance medley relay event, and set a then-American record for 1500 meters on July 17, 2015, breaking Mary Slaney's 32 year-old mark with a time of 3:56.29.
Iraq competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. As of late July, seven Iraqis—two rowers, a weightlifter, a sprinter, a discus thrower, a judoka and an archer—had qualified to compete in seven events in five sports at the Beijing Olympics, and twenty have qualified to take part in the Beijing Paralympics.
Afghanistan sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The team consisted of three men and one woman. Initially, Mehboba Ahdyar prepared to run the 800 metres and 1500 metres, but left her training camp on June 4 to seek political asylum in Norway. The country was represented by two competitors in athletics, and two in taekwondo. Afghanistan won its first ever Olympic medal at these games, with Rohullah Nikpai taking bronze in men's 58 kg taekwondo.
Robina Jalali, also known as Robina Muqimyar, is a former Olympic athlete who represented Afghanistan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and in 30 international events, competing in the 100-meter sprint. She competed athletically under the name Muqimyar and ran for a seat in the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, using her family name of Jalali.
Masoud Azizi is an Afghan athlete. His personal best time in the 100m sprint is 11.11 seconds, achieved in April 2005 in Mecca. In 2013 Azizi failed a doping test at the 2013 World Championships, and was suspended for two years.
Somalia sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The country's participation at Beijing marked its seventh in the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1972 Games. The delegation included two track and field athletes: sprinter Samiya Yuusf Omar and long-distance runner Abdinasir Said Ibrahim. Neither athlete progressed past the first round of their respective competitions. Omar's story, having trained in Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War, was covered by the media at the time, and later featured in a graphic novel following her death.
Bahrain competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The country sent a total of 15 competitors to the Games, competing in athletics, swimming and shooting,. This constituted Bahrain's largest Olympic delegation to date. Among the country's representatives is Maryam Yusuf Jamal, reigning world champion in the women's 1,500 metre run. Rakia Al Gassra was the country's flagbearer at the Games' opening ceremony. In athletics, Rashid Ramzi was originally awarded the gold medal in men's 1,500 meters but it was later stripped due to doping violation.
Vietnam competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It is the 13th summer games in which the nation has competed since its first appearance in 1952. Although it has sent a modest delegation every year it has competed, Vietnam had only earned one Olympic medal before Beijing. The Vietnam Olympic Committee sent thirteen athletes to compete in eight of the 28 Olympic sports. It is the largest ever contingent for the nation, up from 11 in the 2004 games.
The Marshall Islands has competed in five summer Olympiads. It has yet to compete at a Winter Olympic Games. The Marshall Islands Olympic debut was at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The highest number of Marshallese athletes participating in a Summer Games is five in the 2008 games in Beijing. No athlete from the Marshall Islands has ever won a medal at the Olympics.
The Marshall Islands marked its second consecutive Olympiad, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. The Olympian delegation included two men and two women, one male and one female athlete in athletics and one male and one female athlete in swimming. Middle-distance runner Haley Nemra was honored as the national flag bearer at the opening ceremony. The Marshall Islands continued their streak of bringing home no medals.
Krystsina Siarheyeuna Tsimanouskaya is a Belarusian-born Polish sprinter. She has won numerous medals at various events, including a silver medal in the 100 metres at the 2017 European U23 Championships, a gold medal in the 200 metres at the 2019 Summer Universiade, and a silver medal in the team event at the 2019 European Games.
Zakia Khudadadi also spelt as Zakia Khodadadi; is a Hazara parataekwondo practitioner. She is the first Afghan female taekwondo practitioner. She rose to prominence after winning the African International Parataekwondo Championship in 2016 at the age of 18. She represented Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She was initially denied the opportunity to compete at her first Paralympics due to the Taliban takeover but was later allowed by the International Paralympic Committee to compete in the event after being safely evacuated from Afghanistan. She was able to compete and became the first Afghan female Paralympic competitor to compete at the Paralympics in 17 years since Mareena Karim's participation at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. She also officially became the first Afghan female sportsperson to participate in an international sporting event after the Taliban takeover and the first-ever member of the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal.
Afghanistan