The Gambia 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 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the African nation's fifth time competing at a

Summer Olympic Games 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 ...

. The Gambian delegation consisted of two track and field athletes,

Pa Mamadou Gai Pa Mamadou Gai (born 10 October 1977) is a former Gambian sprinter who competed in the men's 100m competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He recorded a 10.72, not enough to qualify for the next round past the heats. His personal best is 10.72, s ...

and

Adama Njie Adama Njie (or N'Jie; born 7 February 1978) is a retired Gambian middle-distance runner who specialised in the 800 metres. She represented her country in three Olympic Games and one Commonwealth Games, and was the flag-bearer for the Gambia at t ...

. Neither advanced beyond the first round heats of their events.

Background

The Gambia National Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1976. The nation boycotted the first two

held after their recognition. They boycotted 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 ...

over New Zealand's participation, and joined a United States-led boycott of the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. Therefore, they did not make their Olympic debut until the

1984 Summer 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 participated in every Summer Olympics since then. Sydney was their fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Games. The 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000; a total of 10,651 athletes represented 199 National Olympic Committees. The Gambian delegation consisted of two track and field athletes,

and

. The flag bearing duties at 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.

were performed by Njie.

Athletics

Pa Mamadou Gai was 22 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, and was making his second Olympic appearance, having previously represented The Gambia 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, ...

. On 22 September, he participated in the first round of the men's 100 meters race, and was drawn into heat eight. He finished the race in 11.03 seconds, eighth out of nine competitors in his heat, and was eliminated. The gold medal was eventually won in 9.87 seconds by Maurice Greene of the United States; the silver was won by

Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64, ...

of Trinidad and Tobago, and the bronze was earned by

Obadele Thompson Obadele "Oba" Thompson BSS (born 30 March 1976) is a Barbados-born former sprinter, lawyer, author, and speaker. He won Barbados's first and only Olympic medal as an independent country by placing third in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olymp ...

of Barbados. Adama Njie was 22 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, and was making the second of her three consecutive Olympic appearances; she had previously competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and would go on to represent The Gambia 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), ...

. On 22 September, she participated in the first round of the women's 800 meters competition, and was drawn into heat five. She finished the race in a time of 2 minutes and 7.90 seconds, which put her sixth out of seven competitors in her heat, and she was eliminated. The gold medal was eventually won by

Maria Mutola Maria de Lurdes Mutola ( ; born 27 October 1972) is a retired female track and field athlete from Mozambique who specialised in the 800 metres running event. She is only the fourth female track and field athlete to compete at six Olympic Games. ...

of Mozambique in 1 minute and 56.15 seconds; the silver medal was won by

Stephanie Graf Stephanie Graf (born 26 April 1973, in Klagenfurt) is an Austrian former middle distance runner who won silver medals in the 800 metres at both the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships. In June 2010 Graf was suspen ...

of Austria, and the bronze was earned by Kelly Holmes of Great Britain.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gambia at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

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 ...

Oly