| Maldives at the 2000 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | MDV |
| NOC | Maldives Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| inSydney, Australia 15 September 2000 (2000-09-15) – 1 October 2000 (2000-10-01) | |
| Competitors | 4 in 2 sports |
| Flag bearer | Naseer Ismail |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
TheMaldives competed at the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney,Australia, from 15 September to 1 October 2000. The delegation's participation in the Sydney Olympics marked the Maldives' fourth appearance at theSummer Olympics since their debut at the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across two sports;Naseer Ismail andShamha Ahmed in track and field, andHassan Mubah andFariha Fathimath in swimming. Neither advanced past the first round in their respective events, and no Maldivian has won a medal in any events. Naseer Ismail bore the Maldives' flag during theparade of nations of the opening ceremony.
The Maldives is anarchipelagic country located inSouthern Asia, situated in theIndian Ocean. Formerly aprotectorate of the United Kingdom, it gained independence in 1965. TheMaldives Olympic Committee was formed in 1985, and was recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee the same year.[1] The Maldives have participated in every Summer Olympics since its debut in the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul. The highest number of Maldivians participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the 1988 Games and the1992 Games inBarcelona,Spain.[2] No Maldivian has ever won a medal at the Olympics.[3]
The 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. For the 2000 Summer Olympics, the Maldives sent a delegation of four athletes. The Maldivian team at the 2000 Games featured two track and field athletes and two swimmers. SprintersNaseer Ismail andShamha Ahmed were chosen to compete in themen's 800 metres andwomen's 100 metres respectively. SwimmersHassan Mubah andFariha Fathimath participated in themen's 50 metre freestyle andwomen's 50 metre freestyle respectively. Naseer Ismail was the only returning athlete from the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta, United States. He was also the flagbearer for the Maldives during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony.[4]
Naseer Ismail was 26 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, and was making his second Olympic appearance, having previously representedthe Maldives at the1996 Summer Olympics.[5] On 23 September, he participated in the first round of the men's 800 meters race, and was drawn into heat five. He finished the race in 1 minute and 56.67 seconds, seventh out of eight competitors in his heat, and was eliminated. The gold medal was eventually won in 1 minute and 45.08 seconds byNils Schumann ofGermany; the silver was won byWilson Kipketer ofDenmark, and the bronze was earned byDjabir Saïd-Guerni ofAlgeria.[6]
Shamha Ahmed was 18 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, and was making her only Olympic appearance. On 22 September, she took part in the first round of the women's 100 metres, and was drawn into heat six. She finished the race in 12.87 seconds, ninth and last in her heat.[7] In the event overall, the gold medal is vacant due to original gold medalistMarion Jones of theUnited States admitting tosteroid use and forfeiting her medals and results from the Sydney Games.[8] Officially, the medals in the event are held byEkaterini Thanou ofGreece andTayna Lawrence (the original bronze medalist) ofJamaica sharing silver, andMerlene Ottey, also of Jamaica, the original fourth-place finisher, being awarded a bronze. Gold was left vacant because Thanou, the original silver medalist, had failed a drug test at the2004 Summer Olympics.[9]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Naseer Ismail | 800 m | 1:56.67 | 7 | did not advance | |||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Shamha Ahmed | 100 m | 12.87 | 9 | did not advance | |||
Competing in his first Summer Olympics, 16-year old Hassan Mubah was the youngest man to compete on behalf of the Maldives at the Sydney Games.[10] In the first round of Mubah's contest, he was drawn to swim in the first heat on 21 September. He completed the race in a time of 28.86 seconds, which put him in fifth out of the seven swimmers in his heat.[11] Mubah placed 73rd out of 75 finishing athletes overall and this meant he did not progress to the semifinals since only the top 16 were permitted to advance to that stage.[12][a]
Fariha Fathimath was the youngest athlete from the Maldivian delegation of any event to compete at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics at the age of 13.[4] Fariha represented the Maldives at the Sydney Olympics as a swimmer participating in the women's 50 meters freestyle. During the qualification round of the event, which took place on 22 September, she participated in the second heat against six other athletes. She completed the event in 32.36 seconds, placing fifth in the event behind Saint Vincent and the Grenadines'Teran Matthews (31.71 seconds).[13] Of the 73 athletes, Fariha ranked 69th. She did not advance to later rounds.[14][b]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Hassan Mubah | 50 m freestyle | 28.86 | 73 | did not advance | |||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Fariha Fathimath | 50 m freestyle | 32.36 | 69 | did not advance | |||
