Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics | |
---|---|
IOC code | IOA |
in London | |
Competitors | 4 in 3 sports |
Flag bearer | Brooklyn Kerlin |
Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Other related appearances | |
Netherlands Antilles (1952–2008) Aruba (1988–) Netherlands (1900–) Sudan (1960–) South Sudan (2016–) |
Four independent Olympic Athletes competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the United Kingdom. [1] These were athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles, and from the newly formed state of South Sudan. This was the third time that athletes had competed as independent participants in the Olympics. [2] [3] None of the athletes won an Olympic medal.
The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, which had planned to continue functioning after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010, had its membership withdrawn by the IOC Executive Committee at the IOC session of July 2011. However, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles who qualified for the 2012 Olympics were allowed to participate independently under the Olympic flag, in addition to the possibility of competing for the Netherlands (as for example Churandy Martina did) or Aruba (because they have Dutch nationality). [4] Ultimately, three athletes from the Netherlands Antilles participated as independent Olympic athletes.
South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in July 2011. As of the 2012 Summer Olympics, it had not formed a National Olympic Committee. [5] Athletes from this nation were therefore unable to enter with a National Olympic Committee (NOC). Guor Marial qualified for the men's marathon and competed as an independent Olympian. [6] [7]
Brooklyn Kerlin was the flag bearer of the athletes during the opening ceremony. She was chosen by her peers to represent the "makers of the Olympics". [8] Hannah Bailes, a London 2012 Ceremonies Cast Member, who was also a volunteer, was selected to carry the Independent Olympic Athletes placard.
Athlete | From | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | |||
Liemarvin Bonevacia | Curaçao | 400 m | 45.60 | 3 Q | 1:36.42 | 8 | Did not advance | |
Guor Marial | South Sudan | Marathon | — | 2:19:32 | 47 |
Athlete | From | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | |||
Reginald de Windt [9] | Curaçao | Men's −81 kg | Bye | Nifontov (RUS) L 0004–1000 | Did not advance |
Athlete | From | Event | Race | Net points | Final rank | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | M* | |||||
Philipine van Aanholt | Curaçao | Laser Radial | 36 | 38 | 29 | 33 | 37 | 16 | 27 | 42 | 37 | EL | 291 | 36 | |
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories, participating. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, and since 1994, have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as official Games. The IOC itself does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database.
The Netherlands first sent athletes to the Olympic Games in 1900, and has participated in almost all Games since then with the exception of 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Netherlands boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne as a protest against the Soviet invasion in Hungary just a few weeks before the beginning of the Games.
Kuwait has competed in 12 Summer Games. To date, Kuwait has won three bronze Olympic medals.
The Netherlands Antilles participated at the Olympic Games from 1952 until 2008. As a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it supported the Netherlands' boycott of the 1956 Games and also joined the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The Netherlands Antilles participated in the Winter Olympic Games twice.
Brunei, as Brunei Darussalam, first participated at the Olympic Games in 1988, with a single official but no athletes. The nation returned and sent athletes to compete in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996, 2000 and 2004. On each occasion, it was represented by a single athlete. Brunei has never won an Olympic medal and not participated in the Winter Olympic Games.
Kiribati competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the second time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, following their debut appearance in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The country had intended to send a total of three athletes to the Games, competing in two sports: athletics and weightlifting. Female sprinter Kaitinano Mwemweata had to withdraw due to illness after contracting tuberculosis.
A delegation from the Netherlands Antilles competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the fifteenth and final appearance of the Netherlands Antilles at the Summer Olympics, as the territory was dissolved before the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, during which the IOC decided that Dutch Antillean athletes would participate independently under the Olympic flag.
Kuwait competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twelfth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
Syria competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twelfth appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1948. The Syrian Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games, after the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. A total of ten athletes, six men and four women, competed in 6 sports. Four of them received their spots in track and field, and in swimming by wild card entries. Three Syrian athletes had competed in Beijing, including high jumper Majed Aldin Ghazal, who was the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Among the sports played by the athletes, Syria marked its Olympic debut in equestrian show jumping.
Brunei, officially known as Brunei Darussalam, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation in London marked its fifth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics. They returned to the Olympics after missing the 2008 games when it was the only country expelled from participating.
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.
Guor Mading Maker, also known as Guor Marial, is a South Sudanese Olympic track and field athlete. He is a Dinka tribesman.
Philipine van Aanholt is a female sailor from Curaçao, competing mainly in the Laser Radial class. She is a two-time Women World Champion in non-Olympic classes. In 2008 and 2009 she was chosen Curaçao's Youth Sports Women of the year. After the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands Antilles lost its recognition by the International Olympic Committee following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, van Aanholt was allowed to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics as an Independent Olympic Athlete. In 2016, she represented neighboring island Aruba at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She was Aruba's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Pan American Games.
Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a result of international sanctions, from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees, and from Russia for mass violations of anti-doping rules.
Tajikistan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
Aruba competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Papua New Guinea competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Sudan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Summer Olympics.
However, South Sudan is only a year old and has yet to form a National Olympic Committee of its own.