Nauru competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, which were held from 26 July to 11 August 2024. The country's participation in Paris marked its eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1996. The delegation of the country was composed of four people, with the athlete delegation only being composed of Winzar Kakiouea in athletics. The delegation was supported by a collaboration between the Australian Government and the Australian Olympic Committee, which was made for the development of sport in Pacific nations.
Kakiouea qualified for the games after receiving a universality slot in his event, which allows underrepresented nations to compete and for a National Olympic Committee to send athletes despite not meeting the other qualification criteria. He competed in the men's 100 metres but ran in a time not fast enough to progress further. Thus, Nauru has yet to win an Olympic medal.
In the lead-up to the 2024 games, the Australian Government announced a collaboration with the Australian Olympic Committee to assist over 230 athletes from 13 Pacific nations[a] for the 2024 Summer Olympics and 2024 Summer Paralympics, which included Nauru. The collaboration was made to create opportunities for the said nations to compete in international competition, gain access to coaching, and to develop sports diplomacy.[3][4]
Delegation and ceremonies
The Nauruan delegation was composed of four people. The sole athlete that competed was sprinter Winzar Kakiouea. Alongside him, his coach, as well as two team officials which included chef de mission Sheba Hubert, attended the games as part of the delegation. The nation's athlete delegation at the games tied with Belize, Liechtenstein, and Somalia for the fewest athletes of a country at the Games.[5] Three of the four members of the delegation arrived at the Olympic Village on 26 July.[6]
Nauru was eligible for a universality slot to send an athletics competitor to the games, which allows underrepresented nations to compete and for a National Olympic Committee (NOC) to send athletes despite not meeting the standard qualification criteria.[9] The nation selected Kakiouea in July 2024, who would compete in the men's 100 meters and was ranked 3701st in the world at the time in the event.[10][11]
Prior to the games, Kakiouea trained in Australia after an Australian coach noticed his performance at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships and reached out to train him. Nauru was devoid of any proper racing track, with Kakiouea naming a track-like course present in Nauru as a "dirt oval".[10] Kakiouea aimed to break his own national record in the event at these games.[12]
Event
The athletics events were held at the Stade de France. Making his Olympic debut, Kakiouea competed in the preliminary rounds of the men's 100 meters on 2 August 2024 at 11:03 a.m.,[b] where he raced in the fifth out of the six rounds. He ran in a time of 11.15 seconds, came sixth out of the eight competitors in his heat, and did not advance further.[11] He expressed his disappointment, stating: "It's been amazing... but I'm not happy with my performance," with Matthew Mohan of Channel News Asia having described Kakiouea as having "disappointment written all over his face".[13]Noah Lyles of the United States eventually won the gold in a time of 9.784 seconds.[14]
Key
Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
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