Countries Who Have Never Won A Summer Olympic Medal

The Summer Olympic Games is one of the world’s premier sporting events. It has been held every four years since 1896 and involves countries from all over the globe competing in various sports and disciplines. Some examples of Olympic sports are shooting, fencing, football, cycling, badminton, and basketball. The winners of each event are awarded with medals: gold for first, silver for second, and bronze for third. Due to its extreme prestige, countries and their respective athletes put in tons of work to achieve one of these coveted medals and cement their skills on a world scale.

Even with dedication and effort, many countries have yet to win a Summer Olympics medal. Many reasons can influence an athlete's ability to win, from a lack of infrastructure to bad luck. This article looks deeper at Bangladesh, Monaco, Congo, Palestine, and Somalia, all of which have never won an Olympic medal.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a South Asian country with a population of nearly 170 million. With its vast population, the nation is known for its diversity and has one of the largest economies in the region. Bangladesh joined the Summer Olympic Games in 1984 and has participated in every Olympics since then. However, despite its population and multiple Olympic appearances, the country has yet to win a medal.

This is primarily due to various challenges that have limited the number of sportspersons who come out of the country. The most prominent challenge is a need for more focus on Olympic sports because most of the country is engrossed in cricket. This subsequently leads to a lack of funding and infrastructure for these sports, making it difficult for athletes to reach an Olympic level of competition. For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Bangladesh sent five athletes to compete in archery, athletics, shooting, and swimming but failed to win any medals.

Monaco

Unlike Bangladesh, Monaco has quite a different set of issues holding the country back from its first medal. This country is a sovereign city-state on the French Riviera and one of the smallest nations in the world. While it is very densely populated, the country is so small that it has a population of less than 40,000 people, which is only four times the number of Olympic athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Due to its small population, even fewer people are willing to compete in sports at an Olympic level. To this end, Monaco sees a lack of participation and, thus, has been unable to send more than 11 athletes to any Summer Olympics since their first participation in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. They sent their largest group of athletes (11) for the 1960 Rome Olympics, wherein the majority took part in 50m shooting events. Since then, the focus on shooting has dropped, and Monaco’s athletes have participated in varying events such as swimming, rowing, athletics, and judo.

Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo, a country in Central Africa, is another surprising name on this list. Home to over 100 million people and the second largest country in Africa, most people would assume that Congo is a prominent contender for Olympic medals. However, this is not the case. Despite having participated in nearly a dozen Summer Olympics, Congo is the second most populous country to have never won a medal in the Olympic Games.

Many reasons for Congo’s lack of performance are similar to Bangladesh's in that there is a lack of resources allocated to sports. Add political instability in the country, and it becomes quite difficult for sportspeople to be given facilities that can take them to a global level. To this end, Congo hasn’t sent more than seven athletes to the past seven Olympic Games. Their best chance was back in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, in which the country sent 17 athletes yet failed to see significant success.

Maldives

Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, is an archipelagic state known for its tourism industry. As Asia’s smallest country with a land area of 115 sq. miles (298 sq. km.) spread across multiple islands, it is a world of beauty that people from all over the world adore. While great for a vacation, these facets don’t make Maldives particularly good at Olympic sports. Having competed since the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the country has yet to win a single medal. Over the past nine Summer Olympics that Maldives participated in, it has sent between four and seven athletes for sports such as athletics, badminton, and swimming. Still, it has yet to see notable success.

The most prevalent issue for Maldives is its unique geography, which makes it challenging to maintain sporting facilities for various sports. The available land is often used for football and cricket, two of the most popular sports in the region, but not great for Olympic medal scoring. Lastly, Maldives also has a small population of around 500,000 people. Consequently, the country produces fewer sportspeople and has never sent more than seven athletes to an Olympic Games.

Palestine

Making its eighth appearance in the 2024 Summer Olympics since its debut in 1996, Palestine is another country yet to win an Olympic Medal. Palestine is not fully recognized internationally as a and is still involved in regular disputes with neighboring Israel. For this reason, the government has been unable to allocate resources to sports, leading to a lack of world-level training.

Despite its political issues, Palestine has sent eight athletes to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the highest number for the country ever. Six of these athletes are men, competing in swimming, shooting, boxing, and judo.

Somalia

The easternmost country is continental Africa; Somalia is another nation that hasn’t had a great run in the Summer Olympics. The country of 18 million has been participating since the 1972 Munich Olympics, wherein they sent three athletes for athletics events. Since then, the country has sent between two and seven athletes in all Summer Olympics except in 1976, 1980, and 1992. This lack of athletes is one of the significant reasons that Somalia has yet to win an Olympic Medal.

The country also faces significant political and financial instability, making it difficult for athletes to reach a global level. For this reason, many Somali-born athletes choose to represent other countries, with some prominent names in the distance running field being Bashir Abdi for Belgium, Hassan Mead for the United States, and Mohammed Ahmed for Canada.

Despite the unwavering dedication and significant effort from athletes and their respective countries, numerous nations have yet to secure a medal in the Summer Olympic Games. Countries like Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo face substantial economic and infrastructural hurdles, whereas smaller nations like Monaco and the Maldives struggle with limited participation and geographic constraints. However, these nations continue to persevere, and each Olympic Games brings renewed hope for breaking their medal droughts.

Countries Without a Summer Olympic Medal