Complete list of countries that have never won an olympic medal
Are there any countries that have never won an Olympic medal? While the eventual goal of nations participating in the Olympic Games is to compete, win and bring home the medals, some have never had the experience. Best believe, more than 70 countries have never won an Olympic medal!
Source: Instagram
The United States of America leads all the countries in the number of Olympic medals, even though the country did not participate in Moscow's 1980 Summer Olympic Games. With close to three thousand medals, the USA has close to double the number of medals that Germany has, and Germany is in the third position after the U.K. While the USA has had a smooth time collecting the awards, some countries have never won an Olympic medal.
Are there any countries that have never won an Olympic medal?
During the competition, the focus is given to countries with the most Olympic medals. However, some countries have never won any category despite their participation. Apart from listing them, this article deciphers why some have never bagged any award despite their effort.
Countries without Olympic medals
The International Olympic Committee recognizes 206 National Olympic Committees and Refugee Olympic Team. However, currently, more than 70 countries that participate in the competition have never won a medal. Why would that be the case? How about analyzing the matter?
Angola
Angola made its debut in the games in 1980. However, the country participated in the 1984 Soviet boycott and did not compete that year. The 2016 Olympic Games were Angola's ninth time to participate in the Olympic Games.
Angola competes in judo, handball, sailing, shooting, swimming, rowing and athletics. However, for the nine competitions, Angola has never bagged a medal.
Albania
Albania debuted in the Olympic Games in 1972 and has participated in the competition eight times. Athletes from the country compete in shooting, weightlifting, track, wrestling and swimming. The highest number of representation the country has had is 11 athletes in 2008.
Despite competing eight times so far, Albania has never won an award.
Antigua and Barbuda
The country made its debut in the competition in 1976 and missed the 1980 Olympic Games. Athletes from Antigua and Barbuda have competed in swimming and track in 10 competitions but have never won a medal.
Andorra
Andorra competed for the first time in 1976 and has taken part in the 11 Olympic Games. Athletes from Andorra take part in shooting, judo, swimming, athletics and cycling. The highest number of competitors from the country is 8, and Andorra is one of the countries that have never won an Olympic medal.
From the analysis above, it is safe to conclude that some countries have not stood a chance to win a medal because of the low number of athletes representing them.
Which country has never won a Summer Olympic medal?
Meanwhile, these are the other Olympic Committees and Refugee Team who have never won a Summer Olympic medal.
- American Samoa
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Aruba
- Benin
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Bhutan
- Bangladesh
- Republic of the Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Cook Islands
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Swaziland
- Equatorial Guinea
- The Gambia
- Guam
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Honduras
- Kiribati
- Laos
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Monaco
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Oman
- Palau
- Palestine
- Papua New Guinea
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- East Timor
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
- Korea
- North Borneo
- Malaya
- Republic of China
- Saar
- North Yemen
- South Yemen
- Refugee Olympic Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Apart from the findings above, the answers to these questions will fill you in on how competitive the Olympics are. The answers will also unveil the most consistent teams as well as their records. The details will also shed light on the non-participants.
Which country has never won a gold medal?
Source: Facebook
Apart from the committees mentioned above, these countries have never bagged a gold medal,
- Kyrgyzstan
- Vietnam
- Tajikistan
- Iceland
- Saudi Arabia
- Namibia
- Qatar
- Singapore
- Ghana
- Lebanon
- Moldova
- Puerto Rico
- Malaysia
- Bangladesh
- The Philippines
Which country has the most Olympic medals?
Source: Facebook
The USA has won the highest number of medals in the competition. Over the years, it has bagged 1,127 gold, 907 silver and 793 bronze medals. The U.K is second with a total of 883 medals while Germany has 855. France, on the other hand, has 840.
What country won the Olympics?
The United States of America was the highest in the Rio Olympics medals list. At the end of the competition, the country had 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze medals. The USA also set the record with the most Olympic gold medal by country in one year.
Which is the most populous country to never have won an Olympic medal?
Bangladesh is the most populous nation which has never won a medal. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 149,772,364 people. During the 2016 games, it had 43 representatives.
Which countries are not in the Olympics?
Source: Facebook
Apart from the performance of countries in the Olympics, there is only one UN-recognized country not represented in the Olympics, Vatican City. It has never applied to join the competition. These are the other countries that the IOC has not recognized,
- Somaliland
- Anguilla
- Montserrat
- Turks & Caicos
- Kurdistan
- Macau
- Abkhazia
- Catalonia
- Faroe Islands
- Gibraltar
- Northern Cyprus
- South Ossetia
- New Caledonia
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Tahiti
- Tokelau
- Wallis and Futuna
206 Olympic Nations are competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Therefore, the USA will not be the only competitor in the games.
Apart from details on countries that have never won an Olympic medal, these details have unpacked why some perform better than others. As you indulge in the Tokyo 2020 competitions, you could be keen to monitor the performances of your favourite teams.
READ ALSO: 10 highest-paid Buccaneers in Orlando Pirates players salary list
Briefly.co.za recently published details about the highest-paid Buccaneers in Orlando Pirates. The details will appal you!
Orlando Pirates is one of the richest football clubs in South Africa. It also has the best footballers in the PSL; hence, this list will come in handy in highlighting how much they earn.
Source: Briefly News
