Micronesia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
| Micronesia at the 2008 Summer Olympics |
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| IOC code | FSM | ||||||||
| NOC | Federated States of Micronesia National Olympic Committee | ||||||||
| Website | www |
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| in Beijing | |||||||||
| Competitors | 5 in 3 sports | ||||||||
| Flag bearer | Manuel Minginfel | ||||||||
| Medals |
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| Summer Olympics appearances | |||||||||
The Federated States of Micronesia sent a team of five athletes to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The appearance of the delegation marked the third appearance by a Micronesian team at the Olympics since its debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Three male athletes (Jack Howard in athletics, Kerson Hadley in swimming and Manuel Minginfel in weightlifting) and two female athletes (Maria Ikelap in athletics and Debra Daniel in swimming) comprised the Olympic team. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the qualification round, and Minginfel placed second to last in his event. There has yet to be a medalist from the Federated States of Micronesia. At the ceremonies, Minginfel held the Micronesian flag in the opening ceremony.
The Federated States of Micronesia is a collection of some 6,000 islands in the South Pacific ocean that includes approximately 100,000 people. The nation is composed of several states that each embody a prominent ethnic group amongst the island group, and lies approximately three-quarters of the way between Hawaii and Indonesia. After World War II, the Micronesian island chain became a United Nations trust territory administered by the United States. The Federated States of Micronesia became an independent country on 1986, but freely associates with the United States, which handles matters of defense. The Federated States of Micronesia sent its first delegation to participate in the Olympics approximately 14 years after it became a sovereign entity, sending three men and two women to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Between then and Beijing in 2008, three male and two female Micronesian athletes participating across three sports have appeared at the Olympics at every instance. Prior to Beijing, there had been no medalists from the Federated States of Micronesia; no medals were won by Micronesian athletes at the Beijing games either. Up to and including the Beijing Olympics, weightlifter Manuel Minginfel had been the flagbearer for Micronesia at every opening ceremony.
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