88 different nations stood on the podium in Tokyo Olympics 2020. 63 different nations saw their national anthem being celebrated, creating an Olympic record for both cases.
And this was possible due to some newcomers in the list of Olympic glory hunters as some countries won accolades for the first time.
Countries with first Olympic medals
Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan first participated in an Olympic event in 1966. And finally, their wait for an Olympic medal ended when weightlifter Polina Guryeva won silver in the women’s 59-kg competition. She lifted 217 kg in total with 96 in snatch and 121 in clean and jerk giving her best ever performance in the tournament.
San Marino: San Marino waited 60 years for an Olympic medal. And it finally came when trap shooter Alessandra Perrili claimed Bronze in the women’s trap shooting final. And just two days later, she along with Gian Marco Berti clinched silver in the mixed trap shooting.
Wrestler Myles Amine won the Bronze in men’s free-style 86 kg class to triple the joy of the nation. And with this, San Marino became the country with the smallest population to win an Olympic medal.
Burkina Faso: When triple jumper Hughes Fabrice Zhang jumped 17.47 meters in the men’s triple jump event, he made sure that the small country from East Africa wins their first-ever medal in Olympics by claiming Bronze.
Countries with the first-ever Olympic gold medal
Philippines: The Philippines ended their long wait for a gold medal this year. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz had to set an Olympic record in both clean and jerk and total in women’s 55-kg weightlifting to secure the first-ever gold for the Philippines in the Olympics after a fierce battle with Chinese Liao Qiuyun.
Bermuda: Heavyweight boxer Clarence Hill was Bermuda’s only source of glory after he won bronze at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. But now they got another and even a better one.
33-year-old Triathlete Flora Duffy, one of the only two athletes from Bermuda in the Tokyo Olympics, stepped up to win the first Gold Medal in the nation’s history. This makes them the smallest country both by population and by area ever to win an Olympic gold medal.
Qatar: Fares Ibrahim El Bakh became the first-ever gold medal winner from Qatar. He broke an Olympic record with a total score of 402 kg in men’s 96 kg weightlifting. But that was not all for Qatar.
One day later, a moment never witnessed before saw Mutaz Esha Barshim from Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy share the gold medal in men’s high jump which was Qatar’s second gold medal in Tokyo.
The author is currently an HSC graduate from Dhaka Residential Model College
ahnaf.sabit10@gmail.com