Maldives at the 1996 Summer Olympics
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The Maldives competed at 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, ...
in Atlanta, United States, from 19 July to 4 August 1996. The delegation's participation in the Atlanta Olympics marked the Maldives' third appearance at 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 their debut 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. Six athletes competed across two sports; Mohamed Amir,
Naseer Ismail Naseer Ismail (born 10 July 1975) is a former athlete from the Maldives who competed in the middle- and long-distance running events. He represented his country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, as well as three World Champion ...
, Hussain Riyaz, Ahmed Shageef and
Yaznee Nasheeda Yaznee Nasheeda (born 8 September 1977) is a Maldivian middle-distance runner. She competed in the women's 800 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta ...
in track and field, and Moosa Nazim in swimming. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the first round in their events, and no Maldivian has won a medal in any events. Ahmed Shageef bore the Maldives' flag during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony.


Background

The Maldives is an archipelagic country located in
Southern Asia Southern Asia may refer to: * South Asia, a geopolitical macroregion of SAARC countries * Southern Asia, a geographical subregion in Asia spanning the Iranian Plateau and the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the phy ...
, situated in the Indian Ocean. Formerly a protectorate of the United Kingdom, it gained independence in 1965. The
Maldives Olympic Committee Maldives Olympic Committee (IOC code: MDV) is the National Olympic Committee representing Maldives. It is also the body responsible for the Maldives' representation at the Commonwealth Games. The Maldives was taking part in the 2012 Summer Olym ...
was formed in 1985, and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee the same year. The Maldives have participated in every Summer Olympics since its debut in 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. The highest number of Maldivians participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the 1988 Games and the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain. No Maldivian has ever won a medal at the Olympics. The 1996 Summer Olympics were held from 19 July to 4 August 1996. For the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Maldives sent a delegation of six athletes. The Maldivian team at the 1996 Games featured five track and field athletes and one swimmers. Sprinters Mohamed Amir,
Naseer Ismail Naseer Ismail (born 10 July 1975) is a former athlete from the Maldives who competed in the middle- and long-distance running events. He represented his country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, as well as three World Champion ...
, Hussain Riyaz, Ahmed Shageef and
Yaznee Nasheeda Yaznee Nasheeda (born 8 September 1977) is a Maldivian middle-distance runner. She competed in the women's 800 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta ...
were chosen to compete in athletic events. Swimmer Moosa Nazim participated in the men's 50 metre. Sprinter Ahmed Shageef was the flagbearer for the Maldives during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony.


Athletics

The Maldives was represented by five athletes at the 1996 Olympics. Sprinter Mohamed Amir, who was making his second appearance at the Olympics after participating in 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 ...
, took part in the men's 400 metres and the men's 4 × 400 metres relay. He was the oldest athlete in the Maldivian delegation at the age of 26. In the men's 400 metres he was drawn in the fourth heat on 26 July, finishing last out of eight athletes with a time of 49.67 seconds.
Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
's Mpho Morobe placed ahead of him with a time of 47.54 seconds, in a heat led by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines'
Eswort Coombs Eswort Lorenzo Brian Coombs (born 26 November 1972) is a retired track and field sprinter from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who specialized in the 400 metres. In addition to 400 m he holds the national record in 4 x 400 metres relay with 3:06.5 ...
who posted a time of 45.84 seconds, 3.83 seconds quicker than Amir's time. Out of 64 athletes, Amir ranked 55th out of 58 athletes that finished. He was 3.4 seconds behind the slowest athlete that progressed to the quarter-finals. Therefore, he did not progress to the later rounds. Sprinter Naseer Ismail was making his first appearance at the Olympics competing in the men's 800 metres and the men's 4 × 400 metres relay. He was drawn in heat four on 28 July and competed against seven other athletes. He ran a time of 1 minute and 58.70 seconds, finishing last of the eight athletes competing. Vanuatu's
Tavakalo Kailes Tavakalo Kailes (born 14 July 1973) is a Vanuatuan athlete, born on Efate. Kailes competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, he entered the 800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is ...
placed ahead of him with a time of 1 minute and 55.07 seconds. Out of 57 athletes, Saeed ranked 54th out 56 athletes that started. He was 11.25 seconds behind the slowest athlete that progressed to the quarter-finals. Therefore, he did not progress to the quarter-finals. He would go on to represent the Maldives at 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 ...
. Like Amir, sprinter Hussain Riyaz was also making his second appearance at the Summer Olympics after participating in the 1992 Games. He took part in the men's 1500 metres and the men's 4 × 400 metres relay. In the men's 500 metres event, he was drawn in the third heat on 29 July. He finished last in his heat with a time of 4 minutes and 15.14 seconds. He finished last out off the 56 athletes that finished. Therefore, he did not progress to the later rounds. The men's 4 × 400 metres relay team consisted of Ahmed Shageef, Mohamed Amir, Naseer Ismail, Hussain Riyaz. Ahmed Shageef was the only Maldivian male athlete to not take part in an individual event. This was Shageef's third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since his debut at the 1988 games. They finished the first heat with a time of 3 minutes and 24.88 seconds, garnering sixth and last place in the heat. This was not fast enough to advance to the next round. Competing at her first ever Summer Olympics, Yaznee Nasheeda was the only female in the Maldivian delegation. She took part in the women's 800 metres event on 26 July and drawn in the third heat. She finished last with a time off 2 minutes and 36.85 seconds. Canada's
Charmaine Crooks Charmaine Crooks (born August 8, 1962), is a Canadian athlete, five-time Olympian and Olympic Silver Medallist (LA '84, 4X400m Relay). Crooks was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, but represented Canada for close to 20 years in athletics. The first ...
ranked ahead of her with a time of 2 minutes and 00.27 seconds. Overall, she finished last out off the 33 athletes that competed. ;Men ;Women


Swimming

Moosa Nazim represented the Maldives as a swimmer in the men's 50 metre freestyle, and was the only Maldivian athlete participating in swimming that year. This marked his first appearance at the Olympics. During the qualification round on 25 July, Nazim competed against two other athletes. He finished the event in 28.37 seconds, ranking second in his heat behind
Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
's
Woodrow Lawrence Woodrow "Woody" Lawrence was a Dominica at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Dominica swimmer at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta who finished 60th out of 63 competitors in the Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's 50 metre freestyle, 50 metre fr ...
(27.88 seconds), who placed first, and ahead of Democratic Republic of the Congo's René Makosso (30.00 seconds), who placed third. Of the 65 participants in the qualification round, Nazim ranked 61st. He did not advance to the later rounds. ;Men


See also

*
List of Maldivian records in athletics The following are the national records in athletics in Maldives maintained by Maldives' national athletics federation: Athletics Association of Maldives (AAM). Outdoor Key to tables: h = hand timing A = affected by altitude Wo = women only ...
*
Maldives at the Olympics The Maldives first participated at the Olympic Games in 1988. It has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since, but has not participated in the Winter Olympic Games. As of 2023, the Maldives has not won any medals at the Olympi ...


Notes


References


External links


Official Report of the XXVI Olympiad
{{Country at games navbox, Maldives, Summer Olympics Nations at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
1996 in Maldivian sport