The

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, from 13 to 29 August 2004. The delegation's participation in the Athens Olympics marked the Maldives' fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics 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. Four athletes competed across two sports; Sultan Saeed and Shifana Ali in track and field, and Hassan Mubah and Aminath Rouya Hussain 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. Sultan Saeed bore the Maldives' flag during the

parade of nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

of the opening ceremony.

Background

The Maldives is an archipelagic country located in Southern Asia, situated in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. Formerly a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

of the United Kingdom, it gained independence in 1965. The Maldives Olympic Committee was formed in 1985, and was recognized by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

the same year. The Maldives have participated in every Summer Olympics since its debut in the

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. The highest number of Maldivians participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the 1988 Games and the 1992 Games in

Barcelona 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 ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. No Maldivian has ever won a medal at the Olympics. The 2004 Summer Olympics were held from 13 to 29 August 2004. For the 2004 Summer Olympics, the Maldives sent a delegation of four athletes. The Maldivian team at the 2004 Games featured two track and field athletes and two swimmers. Sprinters Sultan Saeed and Shifana Ali were chosen to compete in the men's 100 metres and women's 400 metres respectively. Swimmers Hassan Mubah and Aminath Rouya Hussain participated in the men's 50 metre freestyle and women's 50 metre freestyle respectively. Hassan Mubah was the only returning athlete from 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 ...

in Sydney, Australia. Sprinter Sultan Saeed was the flagbearer for the Maldives during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony.

Athletics

Making his Summer Olympics debut, Sultan Saeed carried the Maldivian flag at the opening ceremony. He was the oldest person to represent the nation at the 2004 games at the age of 28. Saeed qualified for the 2004 Athens Games as a

wildcard Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

, without competing in any notable sporting event. 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 21 August in Heat 3 against eight other athletes. He ran a time of 11.72 seconds, finishing last of the eight athletes competing. Comoros's Hadhari Djaffar placed ahead of him with a time of 10.62 seconds, in a heat led by

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Justin Gatlin Justin Alexander Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is a retired American sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. He is the 2004 Olympic Champion in the 100 meters, the 2005 and 2017 World Champion in the 100 meters, the ...

who posted a time of 10.07 seconds, 1.65 seconds quicker than Saeed's time. Out of 84 athletes, Saeed ranked last out 80 athletes that started. He was 1.29 seconds behind the slowest athlete that progressed to the quarter-finals. Therefore, that was the end of his competition. Competing at her first Summer Olympics, Shifana Ali qualified for the 2004 Athens Games after being granted a wildcard place as she had not competed in any notable sporting event. She competed in the 400 metres on 21 August against 42 other athletes. She finished 40th with a time of 1 minute and 0.92 seconds. China's Bo Fanfang ranked ahead of her with a time of 56.01 seconds. By comparison, the woman who won the gold medal,

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

Tonique Williams-Darling Tonique Williams-Darling ( Williams; born January 17, 1976, Nassau, Bahamas) is a Bahamian sprint athlete. She won the gold medal in the 400 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. College She attended ...

, posted a time of 49.42 seconds, 11.5 seconds faster than Shifana's time. ;Men ;Women

Swimming

Hassan Mubah represented the Maldives as a swimmer in the men's 50 metre freestyle, and was the only male Maldivian athlete participating in swimming that year. This marked his second appearance at the Olympics after participating in the

. During the qualification round on 19 August, Mubah competed against seven other athletes. He finished the event in 27.71 seconds, ranking seventh in his heat behind

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

's Khaled Ghezzawi (27.55 seconds), who placed sixth, and ahead of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

's Edgar Luberenga (27.77 seconds) who placed eight. His heat was led by Mauritian swimmer

Chris Hackel Chris Jean Tamas Jacques Hackel (born 15 December 1987) is a Mauritian swimmer. Hackel represented Mauritius at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games. 2004 Summer Olympics Hackel competed in the Men's 50 metre freestyle and won hi ...

(25.33 seconds) and Cameroon's Cole Shade Sule (26.16 seconds). Of the 86 participants in the qualification round, Mubah ranked 73rd. He did not advance to the later rounds. Aminath Rouya Hussain represented the Maldives at the Athens Olympics as a swimmer participating in the women's 50 meters freestyle. Rouya was 13 years old when she participated in the 50 meters freestyle. During the qualification round of the event, which took place on August 20, Rouya participated in the third heat against seven other athletes. She completed the event in 31.26 seconds, placing last in the event behind Jordan's Samar Nassar (30.83 seconds). Of the 75 athletes, Rouya ranked 65th along with Tracy Ann Route from the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

. She did not advance to later rounds. ;Men ;Women

Notes

References

External links