Afghanistan will compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, its first Olympics since the return of Taliban rule in 2021 and the self-imposed exile of many of the country's leading athletes, especially women. It also marked the nation's sixteenth appearance in these games since 1936. The country did not participate in 1952, 1976, 1984 (part of the Soviet-led boycott), 1992, and 2000 (when the Taliban was banned). Afghanistan has taken part in every recent Olympics since 2004.
The involvement of Afghan athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics was arranged by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Afghan National Olympic Committee in exile, and the federations of individual sports.[1][2] The IOC did not allow Taliban officials to participate at the Olympics and only recognizes the Afghan NOC as the representative of Afghan athletes.[3]
In June 2024, Afghanistan announced a six-person, gender-balanced team of athletes competing in athletics, cycling, judo, and swimming, including three veterans of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The runners and swimmers can compete via universality places guaranteed to all Olympic countries and the judoka was confirmed in July by the International Judo Federation. The two women cyclists (Fariba Hashimi and Yulduz Hashimi) had their participation confirmed by the Union Cycliste Internationale in July.
Among the six athletes only one, judoka Mohammad Samim Faizad, lives and trains in Afghanistan.[4]
Five athletes of Afghan origin also competed on the Refugee Olympic Team, which competed in Breaking, Cycling, Judo and Taekwondo. The team included 2020 Olympic veterans Nigara Shaheen and Farzad Mansouri.
Competitors
The following list was the number of confirmed Afghan competitors in the Games.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Cycling | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Judo | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Swimming | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Athletics
Afghanistan received universality slots to send two runners to the Olympics.[5]
- Key
- Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
- Q = Qualified for the next round
- q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
- NR = National record
- N/A = Round not applicable for the event
- Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
- Track & road events
| Athlete | Event | Preliminary | Heats | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Sha Mahmood Noor Zahi | Men's 100 m | 10.64 NR | 4 | Did not advance | |||||
| Kamia Yousufi | Women's 100 m | 13.42 | 6 | Did not advance | |||||
Cycling
For the first time in Olympics history, Cyclists Fariba and Yulduz Hashimi were nominated by the IOC to compete at the games.
Women
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fariba Hashimi | Road race | 4:10:47 | 75 |
| Yulduz Hashimi | Road race | DNF | |
| Time trial | 44:29.13 | 26 | |
Judo
For the first time since 2016, Afghanistan qualified one judoka for the following weight class at the Games. Mohammad Samim Faizad (men's 81 kg) qualified for the games through the allocations of universality places.[6]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Mohammad Samim Faizad | Men's –81 kg | Bye |  Borchasvili (AUT)L 00–11 |
Did not advance | |||||
Swimming
Afghanistan received a universality invitation from FINA.
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Fahim Anwari | Men's 50 m freestyle | 27.14 | 63 | Did not advance | |||
Notes
- ^ Afghanistan still competes under the old tricolor flag used by the former Islamic Republic and not the white banner preferred by the Taliban government.
References
- ^ "IOC EB provisionally lifts suspension of NOC of Guatemala; confirms objective of having a gender-balanced Afghan team at Paris 2024". International Olympic Committee. 19 March 2024.
- ^ "Afghanistan to send six athletes to Paris 2024". Olympic Council of Asia. 15 June 2024.
- ^ Ibrahimi, Faiza. "Afghan Women Head To Olympics On Equal Footing". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. RFE/RL. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ Wali, Qubad (16 July 2024). "Only Olympian training in Taliban's Afghanistan to fulfil judo dream". Yahoo News.
- ^ Ibrahimi, Faiza. "Afghan Women Head To Olympics On Equal Footing". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. RFE/RL. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "OLYMPIC GAMES PARIS 2024 (NATIONS)". International Judo Federation. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
External links
Media related to Afghanistan at the 2024 Summer Olympics at Wikimedia Commons
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