Sierra Leone at the 2004 Summer Olympics
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Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
competed at the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
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 with ...
, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
. The Sierra Leone delegation included two track and field athletes; Lamin Tucker and
Hawanatu Bangura Hawanatu Bangura (born 2 January 1988) is a sprinter from Sierra Leone. She is listed at 4'8 tall and 115 lbs. Bangura represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 100m dash in Athens, Greece. In Athens she finished 7th in her indi ...
, both of whom were sprinters that were selected via winning an event in
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
, as the nation had no athletes that met the "A" or "B" standards in any event. Bangura was selected as
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.
. Neither of the two athletes progressed beyond the heats.


Background

Sierra Leone participated in eight Summer Olympic games between its debut in the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, with the exception of the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, and the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, the latter because of a boycott relating to the
New Zealand national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
touring
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. The Sierra Leone
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
(NOC) selected two athletes via wildcards. Usually, an NOC would be able to enter up to 3 qualified athletes in each individual event as long as each athlete met the "A" standard, or 1 athlete per event if they met the "B" standard. However, since Sierra Leone had no athletes that met either standard, they were allowed to select two athletes, one of each gender, as wildcards. The Sierra Leone NOC decided to host an event in
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
, where the fastest man and woman in the event would be selected to compete at the Athens Games. The two athletes that won and therefore were selected to compete in the Athens games were Lamin Tucker and
Hawanatu Bangura Hawanatu Bangura (born 2 January 1988) is a sprinter from Sierra Leone. She is listed at 4'8 tall and 115 lbs. Bangura represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 100m dash in Athens, Greece. In Athens she finished 7th in her indi ...
. They competed in the track and field Men's
100 meters 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 contest ...
and in the Women's
100 meters 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 contest ...
respectively. Bangura was flag bearer for the opening ceremony.


Athletics

Making his Summer Olympic debut, Lamin Tucker qualified for the Athens Games via winning an event in Freetown. He competed on 21 August in the Men's 100 meters against eight other athletes in the seventh heat. He finished the race in 10.72 seconds, ranking sixth. He ranked ahead of
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
's Kelsey Nakanelua (11.25 seconds) and behind
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's
Pierre Browne Pierre Browne (born January 14, 1980) is a Canadian sprinter of Barbadian descent. He represented Canada for the 100 and the 200 meters dash in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2002 Commonwealth Games, and the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.
(10.32 seconds), in a heat led by
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 ...
's
Asafa Powell Asafa Powell, CD (born 23 November 1982) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres. He set the 100 metres world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds. Powell has consiste ...
(10.06 seconds). Overall, Tucker placed 61st out of the 84 athletes that competed and was 0.38 seconds slower than the slowest athlete that progressed to the next round. Therefore, that was the end of his competition. Competing at her first Summer Olympics, Hawanatu Bangura was notable for holding the Sierra Leone flag at the opening ceremony and for becoming the youngest ever competitor to represent Sierra Leone at the Olympics aged 16, a record that still stands today. She qualified for the Athens Games via winning an event in Freetown. She competed on 20 August in 100 meters in the seventh heat against seven other athletes. She ran a time of 12.11 seconds, finishing seventh. Bangura ranked ahead of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
's
Alaa Jassim Alaa Hikmat Jassim Al-Qaysi, born September 14, 1985, is an Iraqi sprinter. Alaa represented Iraq in the 100 metre sprint at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She finished last of eight in her heat, with a time of 12.70 seconds., ''Mail & Guardi ...
(12.70 seconds) and behind
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
's
Mae Koime Mae Koime (born 14 December 1983) is a Papua New Guinean sprinter. Described as "the fastest ever female sprinter in Papua New Guinea", as Papua New Guinea's "star sprinter", and as Oceania's "fastest woman", Koime has represented her country a ...
(12.00 seconds), in a heat led by
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
's
Christine Arron Christine Arron (born 13 September 1973) is a former track and field sprinter, who competed internationally for France in the 60 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres and the 4 × 100 metres relay. She is one of the ten fastest female 100 metres spri ...
and
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
's Vida Anim (11.14 seconds). Overall, Bangura was 0.68 seconds behind the slowest athlete that progressed to the quarter-finals and therefore she did not advance. ;Men ;Women


References

{{Nations at the 2004 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
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 ...