Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

took part in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, held in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

from 8 to 24 August 2008. It was Comoros's fourth appearance in the summer Olympics since its debut in 1996. The Comoros team included three athletes: runners Mhadjou Youssouf and

Feta Ahamada Feta Ahamada (born 24 June 1987) is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Comoros. She has competed at both the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and at the 2012 Games in London, United Kingdom. Athletics She ho ...

, and swimmer Mohamed Attoumane. Ahamada, a 100 metres sprinter, was the

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

, the first woman to be given the honour. None of the Comoros athletes progressed further than the qualifying heats.

Background

Comoros had participated in the three previous Summer Olympics, debuting in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. At their debut, the country sent four athletes to the games, all of whom competed in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

; it remains their largest delegation as of 2014. No Comorian athlete has ever won a medal at an Olympic Games. Three athletes from Comoros were selected to compete in the 2008 Olympics: Mhadjou Youssouf in the men's track and field 100 metres,

in the women's track and field 100 metres and Mohamed Attoumane in the men's 50 metre freestyle swimming.

Athletics

At the 2008 Olympics, Comoros was represented by one male athlete in athletics, sprinter Mhadjou Youssouf. At age 18, Youssouf was the country's youngest competitor, and was competing at his first Olympics. He competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

on 15 August in Beijing, and finished 6th out of 8 in heat five. His time of 10.62seconds was a personal best, which, as of October 2014, is still his personal best. Overall, Youssouf finished 55th out of 80 competitors. The fastest athlete was

Tyrone Edgar Tyrone Damien Edgar (born 29 March 1982 in Greenwich) is a sprinter from Great Britain who specializes in the 100 metres.

(10.13seconds) and the slowest athlete that progressed to the quarterfinals was

Uchenna Emedolu Uchenna Emedolu (born 17 September 1976, in Adazi-Ani) is a retired Nigerian athlete who specialised in short-distance sprints, particularly the 100 metres and the 200 metres.

(10.46seconds). Youssouf, who was 0.16seconds behind Emedolu, did not progress to the quarterfinals. Competing at her first Olympics,

was the only woman competing in the track and field events at the 2008 Summer Olympics for the Comoros. She competed in the

100 metre The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

event on 19 August. Ahamada, drawn into heat seven for the event, ran a time of 11.88seconds and finished sixth in her heat, 0.55seconds behind the winner,

Ivet Lalova Ivet Miroslavova Lalova-Collio ( bg, Ивет Мирославова Лалова-Колио; born 18 May 1984, in Sofia) is a Bulgarian athlete who specialises in the 100 metres and 200 metres sprint events. She is the 13th-fastest woman in t ...

. She finished 52nd out of 85 athletes overall and was 2.92seconds faster than the slowest athlete,

Robina Muqimyar Robina Jalali, also known as Robina Muqimyar (born 3 July 1986), 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. Ahamada was 0.75seconds behind the fastest athlete (

Oludamola Osayomi Oludamola Bolanle ("Damola") Osayomi (born 26 June 1986 in Ilesha, Osun State) is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is a four-time gold medallist at the African Championships in Athletics and won an Oly ...

) and 0.23seconds behind the slowest athlete who progressed to the quarterfinals,

Thi Huong Vu Thi (Quốc ngữ: Thị; Hán-Nôm: ) is a Vietnamese name, usually given as a middle name to females (''see: Vietnamese name''). It may also refer to: * City of Thi, a city in ''The Wizard of Oz'' * ''thị'', Vietnamese term for persimmons, s ...

. Therefore, Ahamada did not progress to the quarterfinals. ;Track

Swimming

Mohamed Attoumane represented Comoros as its only swimmer competing in the Beijing Olympics. The oldest Comorian at the games, Attoumane, took part in the men's 50metre freestyle race. He was born in September 1981, and was 26 years old when he appeared for his races. Attoumane had not previously competed at any Olympic games. Attoumane competed in heat six of the preliminaries on 14 August. He finished last in his eight-man heat in a time of 29.63seconds, 5.63seconds behind the heat winner,

Yellow Yeiyah Yellow Yeiyah, last names also seen as two words "Yei Yah", (born 9 September 1984 in Ondo, Nigeria) is an Olympic swimmer from Nigeria. He swam for Nigeria at the 2008 Olympics. He first represented Nigeria at international level in the 8t ...

. Out of the ninety-seven swimmers competing in the event, Attoumane finished 91st. He was 8.17 seconds behind the fastest athlete,

Amaury Leveaux Amaury Raymond Leveaux (born 2 December 1985) is a French swimmer from Belfort. Leveaux is a former world record holder in the 100 m freestyle (short course – 44.94 sec), the 50 m freestyle (short course – 20.48 sec), and the 50 m butterfl ...

, and was 7.46 seconds behind the slowest athlete that progressed to the semi-finals,

Gideon Louw Gideon Abraham Louw (born September 4, 1987) is a South African swimmer. He competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. See also * List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men) This ...

. ;Men

References

{{Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...