Afghanistan at the Olympics |
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IOC code | AFG | ||||||||
NOC | Afghanistan National Olympic Committee | ||||||||
Medals |
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Summer appearances | |||||||||
Afghanistan has competed in 13 Summer Games. They have never appeared in any Winter Games.
The country made its first appearance at the Berlin Games in 1936. It has sent a delegation to 13 of the 18 Summer Games since then.
Afghanistan did not send a team to the Barcelona Games in 1992, and sent only two representatives to the Atlanta Games in 1996. Light-middleweight boxer Mohammad Jawid Aman was disqualifed after he arrived too late for the mandatory weigh-in and draw, which left marathon runner Abdul Baser Wasiqi as the country's sole representative. Wasiqi injured a hamstring muscle before the race, but competed nonetheless, literally limping his way through the marathon and finishing last.
Afghanistan was suspended by the IOC in 1999 and subsequently banned from the Sydney Games in 2000 due to its discrimination against women under the rule of the Taliban and its prohibition of sports of any kind. The country was re-instated in 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, and sent five representatives to the Athens Games in 2004.
Among them were two women, Robina Muqim Yaar and Friba Razayee, the first ever women to compete for Afghanistan at the Olympics.
Afghanistan sent a team of four competitors, including three men and one woman, Mehboba Ahdyar, to the Beijing Games of 2008. Ahdyar has received death threats due to her intended participation in the Games.