Palestine at the 1996 Summer Olympics

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Palestine at the
1996 Summer Olympics
Flag of Palestine.svg
Flag of Palestine
IOC code PLE
NOC Palestine Olympic Committee
Website www.poc.ps  (in Arabic)
in Atlanta, United States
19 July 1996 (1996-07-19) – 4 August 1996 (1996-08-04)
Competitors1 [lower-alpha 1] in 1 sport
Flag bearer Majed Abu Maraheel
Officials1
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Palestine participated at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, from 19 July to 4 August 1996. The Palestinian delegation at the 1996 Games included two athletes, runners Majed Abu Maraheel and Ihab Salama, and one official, Muammar Bississo, the president of the Palestine Olympic Committee.

Contents

After forming an Olympic Committee in the 1930s but not competing to avoid Nazi persecution at the 1936 Olympic Games, the nation competed at the Olympic Games for the first time at these Games. Abu Maraheel then competed in his event and became the first Palestinian athlete to compete at the Olympic Games. He finished last in his heat and did not advance to the finals. Abu Maraheel was also the flag bearer during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony.

Background

Membership and recognition

A multi-ethnic Palestinian Olympic Committee (including both Jewish and Arab athletes) had been recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1931, but was unable to participate in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics due to Nazi persecution of all Jews, including those living in Palestine. [1] The recognition of the committee lasted until 1967, when the Six-Day War ensued and Israel gained control of Judea and Samaria from Jordan. The IOC extended recognition to the Palestine Olympic Committee (POC) in 1993, following the ratification of the Oslo Accords. [2] The decision of the recognition and participation of the nation was protested by Israel, who was refused membership to the Olympic Council of Asia in 1982. The president of the Olympic Committee of Israel (OCI) called it political propaganda and vowed to protest the decision to the IOC. [3]

Palestine, sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, was then eventually allowed to compete at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, becoming the first Palestinian Olympic team to compete in any of the Games. [1]

Delegation

According to the New York Times , a Palestinian sports official at the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, Japan, stated that the delegation hoped to send around 20 athletes. A year later, the estimate of the athletes to be sent dropped down to six. [4] In the year when the Olympic Games were going to be held, Nahil Mabrouk, the president of the Palestinian Track and Field Federation, stated that they aimed to send three athletes: long-distance runner Majed Abu Maraheel, racewalker Yasser Ali-Dib, who had emigrated to Cairo and was a bronze medalist at the 1995 Arab Athletics Championships in Cairo, Egypt, [5] and a female athlete who was going to be chosen by the West Bank branch of the national Olympic committee. [4]

According to Muammar Bississo, the president of the Palestine Olympic Committee at the time, the delegation could have reached up to 40 athletes, but the government of Israel would not approve the necessary documents for the other Palestinian athletes to compete at the Games. This forced the delegation to supply two athletes: Majed Abu Maraheel, a runner and security guard for Force 17, [6] [7] who would compete in the men's 10,000 metres event, and Ihab Salama, a football player for the Palestine national football team who was set to compete in the men's 5000 metres as the rest of his team were not allowed to compete at the Games. [8] However, Salama eventually did not compete in his event for unknown reasons. [9]

Opening ceremony

I’ve been crying with joy so often that I hardly can keep my mind on training. The experience of being here is worth a lifetime of running, but my main purpose is to remind the world that Palestine exists.

Majed Abu Maraheel,interview with The Spokesman-Review [10]

At the opening ceremony for the 1996 Summer Olympics, Majed Abu Maraheel was chosen to be the first ever flag bearer for Palestine at the Olympic Games. He stated that his main purpose in the Games was "to remind the world that Palestine exists." [10] Relationships between the OCI and POC were fairly amicable during the Games, with respective committee presidents Ephraim Zinger and Muammar Bississo meeting during the opening ceremonies. The OCI officially rebuked Israeli governmental opposition to the POC competing under the name "Palestine", and Zinger extended an invitation for the Palestinian delegation to visit the OCI headquarters in Tel Aviv. Abu Maraheel and Ihab Salama shook hands, traded pins, and posed for photos with members of the Israeli delegation during the ceremony. [11]

Athletics

The Centennial Olympic Stadium where the athletics events took place. Athletics venue during the 1996 Paralympic Games.jpg
The Centennial Olympic Stadium where the athletics events took place.

Following Salama's withdrawal from his event, Abu Maraheel eventually competed in his own event. [12] He competed in the men's 10,000 metres event on 26 July. Majed competed in the first heat with 24 other athletes. He finished last out of 21 athletes that finished the race, [lower-alpha 2] and recorded a time of 34 minutes and 40.50 seconds. Colombia's Herder Vázquez placed ahead of him with a time of 33 minutes and 26.15 seconds, in a heat led by Ethiopia's Worku Bikila who posted a time of 27 minutes and 50.57 seconds, 6 minutes and 49.93 seconds quicker than Majed's time. Out of 48 athletes, Majed ranked last out of 42 athletes that finished. [lower-alpha 3] He was over 6 minutes behind the slowest athlete that progressed to the finals. He did not progress to the later rounds. [13]

Key
Men
AthleteEventHeatFinal
ResultRankResultRank
Ihab Salama 5000 metres DNS —Did not advance
Majed Abu Maraheel 10,000 metres 34:40.521Did not advance

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ihab Salama did not compete in his event.
  2. ↑ One athlete, Larbi Zéroual, did not finish. Two athletes, Yasuyuki Watanabe  [ jp ] and Julian Paynter, did not start. [13]
  3. ↑ Four athletes, Larbi Zéroual, Abdellah Béhar, Paulo Guerra and Todd Williams, did not finish. Two athletes, Yasuyuki Watanabe and Julian Paynter, did not start. [13]

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Khalidi & Raab 2017, pp. 1403–1406.
  2. ↑ Khalidi & Raab 2017, pp. 1412–1413.
  3. ↑ Harvey, Randy (30 September 1986). "Israel Denounces Admission of PLO to Asian Olympic Panel". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Miller, Judith (4 April 1996). "Olympic Profile: Atlanta 1996;For Palestinian Runner, Carrying Flag Is Glory Enough" . New York Times . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Al Batal Al Arabi(N°:42)" (PDF) (in Arabic). Arab Athletics Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Doust, Dudley (30 March 1996). "Back on the Olympic map". Irish Times. ProQuest   310148505 . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Rowley, Storer (2 June 1996). "Runner Stakes Claim In New Terrain". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest   291137496 . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Participation Is Palestinian's Prize". Chicago Tribune. 25 July 1996. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Palestine at the 1996 Summer Olympics". Olympedia . Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Police Impersonator Attended Ceremonies". The Spokesman-Review. 23 July 1996. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Sherman, Mark (27 July 1996). "Major Strides". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved 5 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Olympedia – Majed Abu Maraheel". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 "Olympedia – 10,000 metres, Men". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.

Bibliography

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