Yemen 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 their third appearance 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 ...

as a unified country. The Yemeni delegation consisted of two track and field athletes, Basheer Al-Khewani and

Hana Ali Saleh Hana Ali Saleh (born 25 February 1968) is a Yemeni who is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Yemen, she competed in the 200 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to represent Yemen at the Oly ...

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

Background

The Yemen Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1981. Both North Yemen and

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

made appearances at the Olympics in the 1980s. Following Yemeni Unification in 1990, the nation has sent a single team to every Olympics since 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 ...

. This made Sydney the third appearance at an Olympics by a unified Yemen, and the nation has yet to debut in the Winter Olympic 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. Yemen sent two track and field competitors to Sydney, Basheer Al-Khewani and

. Al-Khewani was selected as the flag-bearer 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.

Athletics

Basheer Al-Khewani was 18 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, and was making his only Olympic appearance. On 22 September he took part in the first round of the men's 400 meters, and was drawn into heat eight. He finished his race in a time of 49.72 seconds, eighth and last in his heat, and was therefore eliminated. The gold medal was won by Michael Johnson of the United States in 43.84 seconds, the silver was taken by fellow American

Alvin Harrison Alvin Leonardo Harrison (born January 20, 1974) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the 40 ...

, and the bronze medal was earned by

Greg Haughton Gregory Haughton (born 10 November 1973) is a Jamaican 400 metres runner. He won three Olympic medals, one at the 1996 Summer Olympics and two at the 2000 Summer Olympics. His personal best for the 400 m was 44.56 seconds. He was coache ...

of Jamaica. Hana Ali Saleh was 32 years old at the time, and also making her only appearance at an Olympic Games. She was the first woman to represent Yemen at the Olympics. On 27 September she took part in the first round of the women's 200 meters, and was drawn into heat two. She finished the race in 30.36 seconds, eighth and last in her heat. Her time was over six seconds behind seventh place; therefore she was eliminated at this stage. Original gold medalist Marion Jones of the United States was stripped of her medal in December 2007 after admitting to doping violations. Original silver medalist

Pauline Davis-Thompson Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 9 July 1966) is a former Bahamian sprinter. She competed at five Olympics, a rarity for a track and field athlete. She won her first medal at her fourth Olympics and her first gold medals at her fifth Oly ...

of the Bahamas received the gold medal in June 2010.

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 ...

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 ...