| Afghanistan at the 1996 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| IOC code | AFG |
| NOC | Afghanistan National Olympic Committee |
| inAtlanta | |
| Competitors | 3 in 2 sports |
| Flag bearer | Mohammad Aman |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Afghanistan was represented at the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta,Georgia, United States by theAfghanistan National Olympic Committee.
In total, three athletes from Afghanistan went to the Games to compete in two sports including athletics and boxing. However, only two would compete after Mohammad Jawid Aman was disqualified for being too late for theweigh-in.
In total, three athletes were due to represent Afghanistan at the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta,Georgia, United States across two different sports.[1]
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletic | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Boxing | 1 | 0 | 1[note 1] |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 3 |
In total, two Afghan athletes participated in the athletic events –Abdul Ghafoor in themen's 100 m andAbdul Baser Wasiqi in themen's marathon.[1]
The heats for the men's 100 m took place on 26 July 1996 at theCentennial Olympic Stadium. Ghafoor contested heat two which took place at 11:05 am. He finished eighth of the eight starters in a time of 12.2 seconds and failed to advance to the semi-finals.[3]
The men's marathon took place on 4 August 1996 at 7:05 am. The course began and ended at the Centennial Olympic Stadium and followed the general route of theAtlanta Marathon. Wasiqi had been forced to stop training shortly after arriving in Atlanta due to a hamstring injury. He was still able to compete in the event and limped most of the course. He finished the race in a time of four hours 24 minutes and 17 seconds to finish 111th overall – one hour and 24 minutes behind every other finisher.[2][4] When he arrived back, Wasiqi was aplauded across the finishing line by volunteers who had been preparing the stadium for the closing ceremony.[5][6]
| Athletes | Events | Heat Round 1 | Heat Round 2 | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Abdul Ghafoor | 100 metres | 12.20 | 105 | did not advance | |||||
| Abdul Baser Wasiqi | Marathon | 4:24:17 | 111 | ||||||
Mohammad Jawid Aman was due to compete in thelight middleweight category. However, he was refused participation after arriving too late in Atlanta to make the mandatory weigh-in.[2]
Afghanistan's participation at the 1996 Summer Olympics was described as a "hard luck story" byReuters after Aman wasn't allowed to compete and Wasiqi's injury hampered his marathon.[2] Wasiqi's performance, the slowest time to complete an Olympic marathon, is considered to represent the Olympic spirit.[5][6]
Afghanistan did not compete at the2000 Summer Olympics after Abdul Shukoor Mutmaen, head of the Olympic committee run by theTaliban (who controlled most of the country at the time), rejected an offer from theInternational Olympic Committee to allow Afghan athletes to compete under a neutral flag.[2]
