Mali at the Olympics
This West African country has established their national Olympic Committee, Comité National Olympique et Sportif du Mali, in 1962 and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee the very next year. The year after that, they participated in their very first Summer Olympics by sending two athletes, Dramane Sereme and Sara Camara to represent the country in Athletics.
In 1968, boxer Soungalo Bagayogo was the country's sole representative to the Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico. Mali was one of the many African countries that boycotted the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, Canada but they did come back in 1980 for the Moscow Games.
From that point on, Mali has never missed the Summer Gamers. With an almost perfect attendance record in the Summer Olympics, Mali is yet to win her first-ever Olympic medal. Many attribute this to the fact that they do not send many athletes to the Olympics which makes it very hard for them to squeeze in a win.
In 2004, they sent their biggest delegation of 23 athletes that represented the country in four sports. The 2004 delegation was the first time Mali sent a national football team to the Olympics.
Like many African countries, Mali also has never participated in the Winter Games.
Related Pages
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Mali
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