Rhodesia at the Olympics
| Rhodesia at the Olympics |
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| IOC code | RHO | ||||||||
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 Zimbabwe (1980–) |
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Southern Rhodesia first participated as Rhodesia in the Olympic Games in 1928, when it sent two boxers to Amsterdam, both of whom were eliminated in their second bout. The dominion did not appear at the Games under a Rhodesian banner until 1960, when it sent a fourteen-athlete delegation as part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In Rome, two sailors, Alan David Butler and Christopher Bevan, finished fourth, which was Rhodesia's best result until it became Zimbabwe in 1980. Southern Rhodesia sent 29 competitors, including a field hockey team, to the 1964 Summer Games, which was its last Olympic appearance under the Rhodesian banner.
In 1965, Prime Minister Ian Smith declared a unilateral independence that allowed the country's white minority to dominate the government. Great Britain pressured the Mexican state to deny Rhodesia an invitation to the 1968 Summer Olympics and supported a proposed African boycott of the Games that ultimately prevented Rhodesia from taking part. The nation was positioned to compete at the Olympics in 1972 and made it to the Olympic Village before a last-minute International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision barred its athletes from participating. The National Olympic Committee was expelled permanently in 1975 and Rhodesia never again participated under that banner. Rhodesia never took part in the Winter Olympic Games and no Rhodesian competitor ever won an Olympic medal, although it was able to continue competing at the Paralympics through 1972 and reached the podium on multiple occasions.
Southern Rhodesia, under the banner of Rhodesia, first appeared at the Summer Olympic Games in 1928, where its delegation consisted of two boxers,Cecil Bissett and Leonard Hall. Bissett received a bye in the first round of the men's lightweight division and went on to defeat Mexican Carlos Orellana before being stopped by eventual gold medalist Carlo Orlandi of Italy.Leonard Hall, meanwhile, bested German William Walter in the opening round before losing to Kintaro Usuda of Japan. Rhodesia had been one of two British dominions granted permission to compete as its own entity at the Games (the other was Malta). The country débuted independently at the British Empire Games in 1934.
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