| Djibouti at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | DJI |
| NOC | Comité National Olympique et Sportif Djiboutien |
| Website | https://cnos-djibouti.org/ |
| Medals Ranked 153rd |
|
| Summer appearances | |
Djibouti first participated at theOlympic Games in 1984, and have competed in everySummer Olympic Games, apart from the2004 edition, since then. They have never competed in theWinter Olympic Games.
Djibouti's debut came at the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles, where they fielded three athletes but did not take home a medal. Djibouti's only medal at the Olympics was won by marathon runnerHussein Ahmed Salah, who came third in the1988 men's marathon. The country came close to its second medal at the2016 Summer Olympics whenAyanleh Souleiman finished fourth in themen's 1500 metres. Djibouti have competed primarily in athletics, but have also participated in judo, swimming, sailing and table tennis events.
The highest number of Djiboutian athletes participating in a summer Games is eight, which occurred at the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona, Spain. Djiboutian Olympians have primarily been men; the first female athlete wasRoda Ali Wais who participated in the2000 Games. Wais was also the youngest Djiboutian athlete, having competed at the age of 16 years and 62 days. Djibouti's oldest athlete to compete in the Olympics wasHussein Ahmed Salah during the1996 Games at the age of 39 years and 217 days.
TheDjibouti National Olympic and Sports Committee (French:Comité National Olympique et Sportif Djiboutien) was founded in 1983, and was officially recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee a year later.[1] The current president of the committee isAïcha Garad Ali, who was appointed in 2005 and subsequently re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021.[2] The current secretary general is Faissal Abdourahman.[3]
Djibouti was anoverseas territory of France until itvoted to declare independence in 1977.[4] The1980 Moscow Olympics was the first edition of the Summer Games that Djibouti would have been eligible for, but the country boycotted the event in protest of theSoviet war in Afghanistan.[5]
The first year that Djibouti participated in the Olympic Games, they sent three athletes, all competing in themen's marathon.[6]Djama Robleh finished eighth with a time of 2:11:39, whileHussein Ahmed Salah andOmar Abdillahi Charmarke came in 20th and 32nd place respectively.[7]
For the 1988 Olympic Games, Djibouti doubled the number of athletes in their delegation, sending six.[8] This was the first year that Djibouti competed in any events other than the men's marathon.Robleh Ali Adou became the first Djiboutian sailor to participate in the Olympics, placing 40th out of 45 participants in themixed windsurfer category.[9]
In the1500 metres,5000 metres, and10000 metres events respectively,Hoche Yaya Aden,Ismael Hassan, andTalal Omar Abdillahi were all eliminated in the first heat.[10][11][12] In themen's marathon event,Omar Moussa came in 49th place.Ahmed Salah, the only Djiboutian athlete to return from the 1984 Olympic Games, was awarded with Djibouti's only medal, abronze for finishing third in the men's marathon with a time of 2:10:59.[13]
Djibouti sent eight athletes, all men, to the 1992 Olympic Games, the most the country has ever done.[14] Five of these athletes competed in athletics, two in judo and one in sailing, marking the first time Djibouti participated in judo.[6][8][15] Both judokas,Youssef Omar Isahak andAlaoui Mohamed Taher, failed to win a match.[16][17]
Robleh Ali Adou competed in theLechner A-390 sailing event, finishing in 39th place.[18] In athletics, Djibouti competed in four events. In the1500 metres,5000 metres, and10000 metres events respectively,Houssein Djama,Moussa Souleiman, and Omar Daher Gadid were all eliminated in the first heat.[19][20][21] In themen's marathon event, Ahmed Salah placed 30th with a time of 2:19:37 while Talal Omar Abdillahi did not finish.[22]
Djibouti's delegation to 1996 Olympic Games consisted of five athletes, three competing in athletics and two in sailing.[23] In the1500 metres,Ali Ibrahim was eliminated in the first heat.[24] In themen's marathon event, Ahmed Salah finished in 42nd place with a time of 2:20:33, while Omar Moussa failed to finish.[25] At the age of 39 years and 217 days, Ahmed Salah set the record as Djibouti's oldest athlete competing in the Olympics.[14] Additionally, Robleh Ali Abdou competed in themistral race andMohamed Youssef participated in thelaser race; they finished 46th and 55th respectively.[26][27]
Djibouti's delegation for the 2000 Olympic Games consisted of just two athletes, both in athletics.[28] The sole female athlete wasRoda Ali Wais, who was the first female to represent Djibouti at the Olympic Games.[29] She also set the record as Djibouti's youngest participant in the Olympic Games, at the age of 16 years and 62 days.[14] Wais competed in the800 meter event, finishing last in her heat, 24.15 seconds behind the next competitor.[30] The only male athlete was Omar Daher Gadid, who competed in themarathon but did not finish the race.[31]
At the 2004 Olympics, Djibouti entered four athletes, two in tennis and two in athletics.[32] For reasons unknown, none of the competitors participated in any of their events.[1]
After an absence in the 2004 Olympic Games, Djibouti once again sent one male and one female athlete to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, both in athletics.[33] Ahmed Salah was selected as the flag bearer despite not competing in the Games.[14] Neither athlete qualified for the finals.Fathia Ali Bouraleh finished 8th in her heat during the100 metres event, whileMahamoud Farah finished 9th in his heat in the1500 metres event.[34][35]
For the 2012 Olympic Games, Djibouti sent a delegation of five athletes, two in athletics, one in judo, one in swimming, and one in table tennis.[36]Zourah Ali became the country's first female flagbearer.[14]
In swimming,Abdourahman Osman competed in the50 metre freestyle event. He finished first in his heat with a time of 27.25 seconds, but did not advance further and finished 49th overall.[37] Yasmin Farah competed in the table tenniswomen's singles category, but was eliminated in the first round.[38]
Sally Raguib, competing in thelightweight judo category, received abye in her first round but did not start her second round match and was eliminated.[39] In athletics, Zourah Ali participated in the400 metres event, but came 7th in her heat and did not advance to the final.[40]Mumin Gala, competing in the5000 metres, qualified for the final and placed 13th.[41]
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Djibouti fielded its second largest deletion for the 2016 Olympic Games, consisting of five competitors in athletics, and one each in judo and swimming.[42]
In the 2016 Olympics, Djibouti came very close to its second-ever medal.Ayanleh Souleiman, competing in the1500 metres, placed 3rd in his first heat and 2nd in the semifinals. In the finals, Souleiman finished in fourth place with a time of 3:50:29, 0.05 seconds away from the bronze medal and 0.29 seconds away from the gold.[43] Souleiman also competed in the800 metres, but failed to advance past the semifinals.[44] Another athlete,Abdi Waiss Mouhyadin, also took part in the 1500 metres, but did not finish his heat.[43]
In thewomen's 1500 metres andmen's 3000 metres steeplechase events respectively, bothKadra Mohamed Dembil andMohamed Ismail Ibrahim came 12th in their heat and did not advance further.[45][46] Mumin Gala, the country's only returning Olympian from the 2012 Games, competed in themen's marathon and finished 12th overall with a time of 2:13:04.[47]
Anass Houssein, competing in thehalf-lightweight judo category, received abye in his first round but lost his match in the second round.[48]Bourhan Abro competed in themen's 50 metre freestyle, coming 5th in his heat. He did not advance past the first round and placed 74th overall.[49]
Djibouti sent four athletes to the 2020 Olympic Games, three men and one woman, with two competing in athletics, one in judo and one in swimming.[50] Zourah Ali represented Djibouti at the Olympics for the first time since 2012 and participated in thewomen's 1500 metres, but did not finish her heat and was eliminated.[51] Ayanleh Souleiman was due to compete in themen's 800 metres, but did not start the race.[52] He ran in the1500 metres, coming ninth in his heat, but was unable to finish his semifinal race.[53]
Aden-Alexandre Houssein competed in thelightweight judo category. He received a bye in the first round, defeated his opponent in the second round but was eliminated in the third round.[54]Houssein Gaber Ibrahim participated in the50 metre freestyle, coming second in his heat. He did not advance past the first round and placed 65th overall.[55]
Djibouti's delegation to the 2024 Olympic Games involved four competitors in athletics events. In themen's 5000 metres, Abdi Waiss Mouhyadin and Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim were both eliminated in the first heat and did not advance to the final.[56] Likewise, in thewomen's 5000 metres,Samiyah Hassan Nour was also eliminated in the first heat.[57]Ibrahim Hassan competed in themen's marathon and came in 14th place with a time of 2:09:31.[58]
Djibouti also fielded two athletes in swimming and one in judo.Houmed Houssein Barkat competed in themen's 50 metre freestyle and Naima-Zahra Amison competed in thewomen's 50 metre freestyle. Neither athlete advanced past the first round, and they finished 54th and 75th overall respectively.[59][60] Aden-Alexandre Houssein competed in thelightweight judo category, and was defeated in the first round.[61]
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Los Angeles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1988 Seoul | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 46 |
| 1992 Barcelona | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1996 Atlanta | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000 Sydney | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2004 Athens | did not participate | |||||
| 2008 Beijing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2012 London | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2020 Tokyo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2024 Paris | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2028 Los Angeles | Future event | |||||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 153 | |
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Athletics[62] | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (1 entries) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Djibouti's only medal is abronze awarded to Hussein Ahmed Salah in the men's marathon at the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, South Korea.[62]
| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bronze | Houssein Ahmed Salah | 1988 Seoul |  Athletics | Men's marathon |
| Games | Athlete | Sport | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Los Angeles | Djama Robleh | Athletics | [14] |
| 1988 Seoul | Hussein Ahmed Salah | Athletics | |
| 1992 Barcelona | No flagbearer | ||
| 1996 Atlanta | Hussein Ahmed Salah | Athletics | |
| 2000 Sydney | Djama Robleh | Athletics | |
| 2004 Athens | Did not participate | ||
| 2008 Beijing | Hussein Ahmed Salah | Athletics | |
| 2012 London | Zourah Ali (opening) | Athletics | [63] |
| Yasmin Farah (closing) | |||
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | Abdi Waiss Mouhyadin (opening) | Athletics | [64] |
| Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim (closing) | |||
| 2020 Tokyo | Aden-Alexandre Houssein (opening) | Judo | [65] |
| Souhra Ali Mohamed (closing) | Athletics | ||
| 2024 Paris | Mohamed Ismail Ibrahim (opening) | Athletics | [66] [67] |
| Samiyah Hassan Nour (opening) | |||
| Ibrahim Hassan (closing) | Football | ||
