Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

competed at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, which were held from 28 August to 8 September 2024. The country's participation in Paris marked its first appearance at a Paralympic Games after its withdrawal from the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

due to travel restrictions caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The athlete delegation comprised one single athlete, thrower Ongiou Timeon, who competed in the men's shot put F11 event for athletes with near-total visual impairment. Timeon served as the nation's flagbearer during 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.

. The delegation was supported by a collaboration between the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

and the

Australian Olympic Committee The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...

, which was made for the development of sport in Pacific nations. Timeon qualified for the games after receiving a

universality slot Universality slots or universality places are used by the International Olympic Committee to increase diversity of participating nations across the sports programme of the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world' ...

. He competed in his event on 2 September 2024 and placed eighth, not earning a medal.

Background

The games were held from 28 August to 8 September 2024 in

, France. This edition of the games marked the nation's first appearance at the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

alongside

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. The

Kiribati National Paralympic Committee The Kiribati National Paralympic Committee is the National Paralympic Committee representing Kiribati. The organization became full members of the International Paralympic Committee in October 2019. Kiribati intended to make their debut at the Sum ...

was recognized by the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

(IPC) in 2019 and initially planned to make their debut at the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. Due to travel restrictions imposed by the

, the I-Kiribati delegation had to stay in a hotel in Australia due to the latter nation requiring international travelers to quarantine for two weeks before further travel. The quarantine left some financial constraints for the delegation, and they eventually announced their withdrawal from the 2020 Summer Games. In the lead-up to the games, the

announced a collaboration with the

to assist over 230 athletes from 13 Pacific nations for the 2024 Summer Olympics and

, which included Kiribati. The collaboration was made to create opportunities for said nations to compete in international competition, gain access to coaching, and to develop

sports diplomacy Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

Delegation and opening ceremony

The Kiribati delegation composed of three people. Their travel took two days, making a layover at

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

before landing in Paris. The official present at the games was ''

chef de mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanen ...

'' Fakaofo Kekeang. A singular athlete qualified for the games, Ongiou Timeon, a thrower who competed in the men's shot put F11. Timeon was coached by Karotu Bakae who was also at the games. The nation's athlete delegation at the games tied with 36 other nations for the fewest athletes of a country at the games. The I-Kiribati delegation came in 81st out of the 169

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 ...

s in the 2024 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations within 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.

. Timeon held the flag for the delegation.

Competitors

Athletics

Qualification and lead-up to the games

Kiribati was eligible for a

to send an athletics competitor to the games, which allows a National Paralympic Committee to send athletes despite not meeting the standard qualification criteria. Kiribati sent thrower Ongiou Timeon, who would compete in the men's shot put F11 event for athletes with near-total visual impairment.

Event

The athletics events were held in the

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

. Timeon competed in the straight final of the event on 2 September 2024, which started on 8:46 p.m., where he was the second athlete to throw. His first throw was disqualified, whereas his second throw of 6.46 metres would be his best throw at the games. The rest of his throws were recorded as 6.20 metres, 6.17 metres, a disqualified throw, and 5.84 meters, ultimately placing him eighth out of the eight competitors. The eventual winner of the event was

Amirhossein Alipour Darbeid Amirhossein Alipour Darbeid (born 2 March 2002) is an Iranian para-athlete specializing in shot put. Career In May 2024, Alipour Darbeid represented Iran at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships and won a gold medal in the shot put F11 ev ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

with a throw of 14.78, which was an Asian record. During an interview with the IPC after his event, he commented "I tried my best. I can do better if I keep training well," and once asked if he would try to qualify for a future Olympic Games, he said he would continue to work hard. The eyemask that Timeon wore during the competition was applauded by the IPC, calling it "impressive".

Notes

References

{{Nations at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Nations at the 2024 Summer Paralympics

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

2024 in Kiribati sport