The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1940 Olympic Games had been scheduled for Tokyo and then for Helsinki, while the 1944 Olympic Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second time London hosted the Olympic Games, having previously hosted them in 1908, forty years earlier. The Olympics would return again to London 64 years later in 2012, making London the first city to host the games thrice, and the only such city until Paris hosted and Los Angeles will host their third games in 2024 and 2028, respectively. The 1948 Olympic Games were also the first of two summer Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström.
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Athens, the capital of Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896, and were the first Olympic Games of the Modern era.
Australia has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games, as well as every Winter Olympics except 1924–32 and 1948. In 1908 and 1912 Australia competed with New Zealand under the name Australasia.
Venezuela competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. The Venezuelan Olympic Committee selected 38 competitors, 36 men and two women, to take part in 37 events across eight sports. This was a much greater turnout than 1948, Venezuela's only previous entry, which had only one athlete. For the first time, women represented Venezuela at the Summer Olympics. Women have been absent in the Venezuelan team on four occasions, including the next Summer Games held in Melbourne.
Italy has sent athletes to most of the modern Olympic Games held since 1896, outside of not having officially participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
Greece has competed at every Summer Olympic Games, one of five countries to have done so, and most of the Winter Olympic Games. Greece has hosted the modern Olympic Games twice, both in Athens for the Summer Olympic Games, in 1896 and 2004.
Bangladesh sent a delegation to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States from 28 July to 12 August 1984. The Bangladeshi delegation consisted of a single track and field athlete, Saidur Rahman Dawn. In his two events, the 100 metres and 200 metres, he did not qualify to advance beyond the first round.
Nigeria first participated in the Olympic Games in 1952, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the boycotted 1976 Summer Olympics. The nation participated in the Winter Olympic Games in 2018, having qualified female athletes in bobsleigh and skeleton.
Zimbabwe participated for the first time at the Olympic Games under its current name in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. Previously, it competed at the Games under the name Rhodesia in 1928, 1960 and 1964. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi marked Zimbabwe's first participation at the Winter Olympic Games, with Luke Steyn, the Zimbabwean born athlete participating in alpine skiing.
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 34 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.
Kuwait has competed in 12 Summer Games. To date, Kuwait has won three bronze Olympic medals.
Montenegro competed as an independent nation for the first time at the Olympic Games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Montenegro was the youngest nation to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Athletes from Montenegro participated in three different events. In individual events, the new nation had representatives in boxing and shooting. Boxer Milorad Gajović represented his country in the heavyweight division, while Nikola Šaranović competed in 10 m air pistol and 50 m pistol precision shooting events. In team competition, Montenegro competed in water polo. The Montenegro national water polo team won the 2007 European Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament to qualify for the Olympic games.
China was the host nation of the 2008 Summer Olympics. China was represented by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), and the team of selected athletes were officially known as Team China.
Southern Rhodesia first participated as Rhodesia in the Olympic Games in 1928, when it sent two boxers to Amsterdam, both of whom were eliminated in their second bout. The colony did not appear at the Games under a Rhodesian banner until 1960, when it sent a fourteen-athlete delegation as part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In Rome, two sailors, Alan David Butler and Christopher Bevan, finished fourth, which was Rhodesia's best result until it became Zimbabwe in 1980. Southern Rhodesia sent 29 competitors, including a field hockey team, to the 1964 Summer Games, which was its last Olympic appearance under the Rhodesian banner.
The 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games, later known as the 1972 Summer Paralympics was an international multi-sport event held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from August 2 to 11, 1972, in which athletes with physical disabilities competed against one another. The German Disabled Sports Association planned to stage the Games in Munich following the 1972 Olympic Games, however the Olympic village in Munich was designated to be closed and converted into private apartments. The organisers tried to arrange for alternative accommodation for the athletes but when this was not possible the city of Heidelberg stepped in with an invite to stage the Games at the University of Heidelberg's Institute for Physical Training.
The men's 400 metres was an event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The competition was held on 3, 4 and 7 September. Sixty-four athletes from 49 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.14 seconds by Vince Matthews of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 12th overall victory in the event. The Americans' hopes to repeat their podium sweep of four years earlier were dashed by injury in the final. Bronze medalist Julius Sang became the first black African to win a sprint Olympic medal, earning Kenya's first medal in the event.
Zambia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, although it marked its official debut in 1964 under the name Northern Rhodesia. Zambia missed the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, because of its partial support to the African boycott.
Rhodesia (1960)
