Mauritania sent a delegation to compete 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 ...

in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the African nation's fifth time competing at the Summer Olympic Games. The Mauritanian delegation consisted of two

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athletes, Sidi Mohamed Ould Bidjel and Fatou Dieng. Neither advanced beyond the first round of their respective events.

Background

The Comité National Olympique et Sportif Mauritanien (The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Mauritania) was recognised 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 ...

on 1 January 1979. Mauritania made their Olympic debut at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, and have sent a delegation to every Summer Olympic Games since; they have yet to make their first appearance at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. These Sydney Olympics were the nation's fifth appearance at a Summer Olympiad. The 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000; a total of 10,651 athletes represented 199 NOCs. The Mauritanian delegation consisted of two

athletes, Sidi Mohamed Ould Bidjel and Fatou Dieng. Ould Bidjel was selected as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony.

Athletics

Fatou Dieng was 16 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, and was making her only Olympic appearance. She was the first female competitor ever sent to the Olympics by Mauritania. On 23 September, she took part in the first round of the women's 100 metres, and was drawn into heat seven. She finished the race in 13.69 seconds, ninth and last in her heat, and over two seconds behind the heat's winner,

Chandra Sturrup Chandra Sturrup (born September 12, 1971) is a Bahamian track and field sprint athlete. Career She is a 100m specialist and the Bahamian record holder for the women's 100m with a personal best o ...

of 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 ...

. In the event overall, the gold medal is vacant due to original gold medalist

Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...

of the

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 ...

admitting to steroid use and forfeiting her medals and results from the Sydney Games. Officially, the medals in the event are held by

Ekaterini Thanou Ekaterini Thanou ( el, Αικατερίνη Θάνου, ; born 1 February 1975), also known as Katerina Thanou, is a Greek former sprinter. She won numerous medals in the 100 metres, including an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics ...

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 ...

and

Tayna Lawrence Tayna Lawrence (born 17 September 1975 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a Track and field Sprint (running), sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. She is an Olympic gold medalist in the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Wome ...

(the original bronze medalist) of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

sharing silver, and

Merlene Ottey Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ran ...

, also of Jamaica, the original fourth-place finisher, being awarded a bronze. Gold was left vacant because Thanou, the original silver medalist, had her own issue with missing a drug test at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sidi Mohamed Ould Bidjel was 18 years old at the time of these Games, and was likewise making his only Olympic appearance. On 25 September, he participated in the first round of the men's 1500 metres, and was assigned the third heat. He finished his race in a time of 4 minutes and 3.74 seconds, 14th and last in his heat, and he was eliminated. The gold medal was eventually won in Olympic-record time of 3 minutes and 32.07 seconds by

Noah Ngeny Noah Kiprono Ngeny (born 2 November 1978) is a former Kenyan athlete, Olympic gold medalist at 1500 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and world record holder in the 1000 m. Career Noah was born in the Uasin Gishu District in Kenya. Ngeny played ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, the silver medal was earned by

Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj ( ar, هشام الݣروج, Hishām l-Garrūj; ber, ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⴻⵍ ⴳⴻⵔⵔⵓⵊ, Hisham El Gerruj; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record h ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, and the bronze medal was taken by fellow Kenyan Bernard Lagat.

References

{{NOCin2000SummerOlympics 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 S ...

2000 in Mauritanian sport

Background

Athletics

See also

References