| Bhutan at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | BHU |
| NOC | Bhutan Olympic Committee |
| Website | bhutanolympiccommittee |
| Medals |
|
| Summer appearances | |
Bhutan has participated in everySummer Olympic Games since its debut in1984. TheBhutan Olympic Committee was recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee on 23 November 1983, after being founded earlier that year by former Foreign Minister Lyonpo Dawa Tsering. To get official recognition, Bhutan needed five National Sports Federations which they achieved. Bhutanese Olympians have mostly competed in archery; however, the country has also taken part in events such as shooting, swimming, judo, and athletics. As of 2025[update], Bhutan has yet to win an Olympic medal. They sent their largest delegation of six archers to the 1984 Games. Their best results were in2004, whenTashi Peljor andTshering Choden both reached the round of 32 in themen's andwomen's archery, respectively.
TheNational Sports Association of Bhutan (NSAB) was established in 1972 and was the precursor of theBhutan Olympic Committee (BOC).[1] The BOC was recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) on 23 November 1983,[a] after being founded in February of that year by the former Foreign Minister ofBhutan, Lyonpo Dawa Tsering.[3][2] As of 2024[update], the BOC has affiliations with a total of 16 National Sports Federations.[4][5] In addition to the IOC, the BOC is also part of the five other international sports bodies: theAssociation of National Olympic Committees, theOlympic Council of Asia, theSouth Asia Olympic Council, theAsia-Pacific Oceana Sports Assembly, and theFar East and South Pacific Games Federation for the Disabled.[3]
Bhutan sent a delegation to compete at the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles (LA),United States which took place from July 28 to August 12, 1984.[6] It was the nation's debut appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of six athletes competing inarchery.[8]Thinley Dorji served as the team'sflagbearer in the opening ceremony.[9] Overall, the best result wasSonam Chuki, coming in 43rd, and the worst wasLhendup Tshering, coming 60th.[8]
Bhutan sent three people to compete at the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, South Korea[10] which took place from 17 September to 2 October 1988.[11] It was the nation's second consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of allarchers.[10]Pema Tshering served as the team's flagbearer in the opening ceremony.[9] None of the Bhutanese archers advanced past the ranking round, both as teams and individuals. As individuals, their best placement was 73rd and the lowest was 80th. As a team, their placement was 22nd.[10]
Bhutan sent a delegation of six to compete at the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona, Spain[12] which took place from 25 July to 9 August 1992.[13] It was the nation's third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The whole delegation consisted ofarchers.[12]Jubzhang Jubzhang served as the team's flagbearer in the opening ceremony.[9] None of the Bhutanese archers advanced past the ranking round, both as teams and individuals.[14] The Bhutanese women's team was the only team to not advance to the Round of 16 in their event.[15]
Bhutan's delegation sent to compete at the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta,United States which took place from 19 July to 4 August 1996.[16] It was the nation's fourth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of two athletes competing inarchery.[17] Jubzhang again served as the team's flagbearer in the opening ceremony.[9] None of the Bhutanese archers advanced past the Round of 64,[17] with both of them being defeated to Ukrainians.[18][19]
Bhutan competed at the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney, Australia which took place from 15 September to 1 October 2000.[20] It was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of two athletes competing in one sport: Jubzhang andTshering Choden inarchery.[21] Jubzhang was yet again chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.[9] Neither of the archers advanced past the Round of 64.[22][23]
Bhutan competed at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens,Greece which took place from 13 to 29 August 2004.[24] It was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of two athletes competing in one sport:Tshering Choden andTashi Peljor inarchery.[25] Choden served as the team's flagbearer in the opening ceremony, while Peljor held the flag at the closing ceremony.[26] Peljor defeatedJocelyn de Grandis in the Round of 64 and advanced to the Round of 32,[27] where he lost, 152–155.[27] Choden also won in the first round and advanced to the Round of 32, where she tied 134–134 before losing in a 4–7 tiebreaker.[28] As of 2024[update], these are the best Bhutanese results at the Games.[2]
Bhutan sent a delegation to compete in the2008 Summer Olympics, held inBeijing, China which took place from 8 to 24 August 2008.[29] This was Bhutan's seventh time participating in a Summer Olympic Games.[7] The delegation consisted of twoarchers, Peljor andDorji Dema.[30] Peljor was the flagbearer in both the opening and closing ceremonies.[26] Neither won their first round match.[31][32]
Bhutan sent a team of two to compete at the2012 Summer Olympics in London,[33][34] which took place from 27 July to 12 August 2012.[35] This marked the nation's eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics[7] and the first in which the nation competed in a sport other thanarchery.[36] The Bhutanese delegation included archerSherab Zam and shooterKunzang Choden.[33][34] Zam was theflag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies.[26] Neither of Bhutan's athletes progressed beyond the first round of their events.[37][38] Bhutan was one of only two countries to have a female-only team at the 2012 Games.[39]
Bhutan competed at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, which was held from 5 to 21 August 2016.[40] The country's participation marked its ninth appearance in the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation included two female athletes,Karma in the women'sindividual archery tournament andKunzang Lenchu in the women's10 metre air rifle shooting contest.[41] Both qualified for the Games throughuniversality places because they did not match the required qualification standards.[42][43] Karma was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony while Lenchu held it at the closing ceremony.[26] Karma was eliminated at the Round of 64,[44] while Lenchu was eliminated from the competition after the shooting qualification round.[45]
The Bhutanese team competed at the2020 Summer Olympics inTokyo, Japan,which was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021,[46] it was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of four athletes competing in four sports;archery,judo,shooting, andswimming.[47] Karma, andSangay Tenzin, a swimmer, served as the team's flagbearers in the opening ceremony, while Tenzin was the sole flagbearer in the closing ceremony.[26] Karma lost in the Round of 64 of thewomen's individual recurve archery.[48][49] Competing in themen's –60 kg judo event,Ngawang Namgyel lost in the first round.[50]Lenchu Kunzang participated in the qualifiers of thewomen's 10 m air rifle. She got 43rd place overall, failing to advanced to the final.[51] Tenzin participated in the heats of themen's 100 metre freestyle in heat one. He finished the race in 68th place overall, and failed to advanced to the semifinals.[52] Karma was the first Bhutanese athlete to qualify through meeting qualification standards and not a universality place.[53]
Bhutan competed at the2024 Summer Olympics inParis, France which took place from 26 July to 11 August 2024.[54] It was the nation's eleventh consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.[7] The delegation consisted of three athletes competing in three sports.[55] Tenzin andKinzang Lhamo served as the team's flagbearers in the opening ceremony, while Lhamo was the sole flagbearer in the closing ceremony.[26] Archer Lam Dorji lost in the Round of 64.[56] Lhamo got last place in thewomen's marathon.[57] Tenzin was eliminated in the heats of themen's 100 m freestyle swimming event,[58] failing to advance to the semifinal.[59]
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Los Angeles | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1988 Seoul | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1992 Barcelona | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1996 Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000 Sydney | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2004 Athens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008 Beijing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2012 London | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2020 Tokyo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2024 Paris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2028 Los Angeles | future event | |||||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |
| # | Event year | Season | Flag bearer | Sport | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1984 | Summer | Thinley Dorji | Archery | [60] |
| 2 | 1988 | Pema Tshering | Archery | ||
| 3 | 1992 | Jubzhang Jubzhang | Archery | ||
| 4 | 1996 | Jubzhang Jubzhang | Archery | ||
| 5 | 2000 | Jubzhang Jubzhang | Archery | ||
| 6 | 2004 | Tshering Choden | Archery | ||
| 7 | 2008 | Tashi Peljor | Archery | ||
| 8 | 2012 | Sherab Zam | Archery | ||
| 9 | 2016 | Karma | Archery | ||
| 10 | 2020 | Karma | Archery | ||
| Sangay Tenzin | Swimming | ||||
| 11 | 2024 | Kinzang Lhamo | Athletics | [61] | |
| Sangay Tenzin | Swimming |
| # | Event year | Season | Flag bearer | Sport | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2004 | Summer | Tashi Peljor | Archery | [60] |
| 7 | 2008 | Tashi Peljor | Archery | ||
| 8 | 2012 | Sherab Zam | Archery | ||
| 9 | 2016 | Lenchu Kunzang | Shooting | ||
| 10 | 2020 | Sangay Tenzin | Swimming | ||
| 11 | 2024 | Kinzang Lhamo | Athletics | [62] |
