Djibouti took part in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, which were held in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

from 15 September to 1 October. The country's participation at Sydney marked its fifth appearance in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

since its debut at the 1984 Summer Games in

Los Angeles, United States Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. The delegation included two track and field athletes; Omar Daher Gadid in the men's marathon and Roda Ali Wais in the women's 800 metres. Gadid failed to finish the marathon, while Wais did not progress past the first round of her event.

Background

Djibouti participated in four

between its debut at the 1984 Games in

, and the

in Sydney, Australia. Djibouti made their Olympic debut in 1984, sending three athletes. Djibouti's one and only medal prior to these games was a bronze awarded to

Hussein Ahmed Salah Hussein Ahmed Salah ( ar, حسين أحمد صلاح, so, Xuseen Axmed Saalax) is a Djiboutian former long-distance runner, best known for winning a bronze medal in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He also won silver medals in this eve ...

in the men's marathon at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul, South Korea. The highest number of Djibouti competing at a Games was eight at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. The Djibouti team for the 2000 Summer Olympics featured Omar Daher Gadid in the men's marathon, who had previously competed in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the 1992 Games.

Athletics

The sole female Djibouti athlete at the 2000 Games was Roda Ali Wais. She set a new record for her nation upon competing, being the youngest athlete to represent Djibouti, at the age of 16 years and 162 days. Wais was also the first female to represent Djibouti in the Olympic games. She competed in the second heat of the women's 800 metres on 22 September. Wais finished last in the heat of eight athletes, with a time of two minutes and 31.74 seconds. This was over 24 seconds adrift of Romania's Elena Iagăr (two minutes and 7.56 seconds). Only the top two athletes from the heat qualified, and Wais' competition ended with that heat. Omar Daher Gadid was the only male athlete competing for Djibouti at the 2000 Summer Olympics, competed in the men's marathon on 1 October. In a field of 100 runners, 19 did not complete the race including Gadid. The medals were shared between athletes from African nations with the gold and bronze going to Ethiopia's

Gezahgne Abera Gezahegne Abera (Amharic: ገዛሄኘ አበራ; born April 23, 1978) is an Ethiopian athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Born in Etya, Arsi Province, Gezahegne's first international competition was the ...

(two hours, ten minutes and 11 seconds) and

Tesfaye Tola Tesfaye Tola (born 19 October 1974) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, most known for winning a bronze medal in marathon at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as ...

(two hours, 11 minutes and ten seconds) respectively, and the silver won by

Eric Wainaina The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

from Kenya (two hours, ten minutes and 31 seconds).

Men

Women

References

{{Country at games navbox, Djibouti, Olympics Nations at the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Olymp