Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

participated for the first time at the

Olympic Games 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 vari ...

under its current name in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. Previously, it competed at the Games under the name Rhodesia in 1928, 1960 and 1964. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi marked Zimbabwe's first participation 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 ...

, with Luke Steyn, the Zimbabwean born athlete participating in alpine skiing. Zimbabwean athletes have won a total of eight medals – three golds, four silvers and one bronze – in two sports. Seven medals were won by swimmer

Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean swimmer and politician currently serving as the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe since September 2018. A former Olympic swimmer and wo ...

in 2004 and 2008; the remaining medal was the result of a

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

by the women's national field hockey team in 1980. The National Olympic Committee for Zimbabwe was created in 1934 and 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 ...

in 1980.

History

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

(now Zimbabwe) first participated as Rhodesia in the

in 1928. Rhodesia was then absent until 1960 when the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland competed under the name of Rhodesia in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Southern Rhodesia then competed alone under the banner of Rhodesia once again and for the last time in 1964. The country thus always competed as a British territory. It was unable to take part in the 1968 Games in

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 ...

, due to the Mexican government's interpretation of regulations on passports. It never successfully competed following

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

's declaration of an independent Rhodesian republic in 1970. Although it returned to the Games in 1972, Rhodesia was expelled by the

four days before the opening ceremony, under pressure from other African countries, which did not recognise the legitimacy of the Rhodesian state and threatened a boycott. The invitation which had been extended to Rhodesia was withdrawn by the IOC, by 36 votes to 31 with three abstentions. Rhodesia remained out of 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 P ...

after the IOC inspected the country's sporting facilities and groups and found them underwhelming, voting for their expulsion from the committee.''Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement''
/ref> The country's

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

History

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Winter Games

Medals by sport

List of medalists

See also

References

External links