EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee

o o o o o o o o o
beijing
2008
The current Olympic Charter too can be traced to the
principles established by De Courbetin. The first two
‘Fundamental Principles’ of Olympism exemplify the
idealism behind the sporting activity.
Olympism, says the first principle, is “a philosophy of
life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities
of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and
education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life
based on the joy of effort, the educational value of
good example and respect for universal fundamental
ethical principles.”
The second principle states that the “goal of
Olympism is to place sport at the service of the
harmonious development of man, with a view to
promoting a peaceful society concerned with the
preservation of human dignity.”
These ideas and others put forward by the
founders of the modern Olympic movement have
not only endured, but spread across the globe.
Today, 202 National Olympic Committees and 35
International Federations are part of the Olympic
Movement. This year’s host nation China, for
example, formally entered the Olympic stage in
1936 in Berlin, Germany; the Soviet
Union entered the Olympics for the
first time in 1952 in Helsinki, Norway;
and Qatar first competed at a Summer
Games in Los Angeles, USA, in 1984.
New to the rigours of top-level
international competition, Qatar’s
initial effort was not an immediate
sporting success, but at the Barcelona
Olympic Games in 1992, Qatar won
its first medal when Mohammed
Suleiman took home the bronze in the
men’s 1500 metres. Eight years later at
Sydney 2000, Qatar’s second medal was secured
when Said Saad Asaad won the bronze medal in
the Men’s 105kg weightlifting.
This year, Qatar will send its strongest ever
team to compete for medals in Beijing, but for
Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani,
Secretary General of QOC, the Movement is
about far more than the number medals won.
In May, Sheikh Saoud received the 2007
IOC Award for individuals who support the
Olympic Movement from Juan Antonio
Samaranch, Honorary President of the IOC in
Lausanne. The award was given to the QOC a
because of its contribution in supporting other
National Olympic Committees such as the Yemeni Olympic
Committee.
The honour also reflects the QOC’s committed strategy
for sport in line with the directions of the QOC president,
HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. The QOC’s
mission is “to become a leading nation in bringing the world
together through sport”. It is an ambition that will be reenergised
in the sporting venues of Beijing this August, and
one that will continue to burn brightly long after the Closing
Ceremony as Qatar seeks to create its own sporting heroes to
match the legends of past Olympic Games.
From the top:
Cathy Freeman
wins 400m gold
for Australia
in Sydney; Liu
Xiang powers to
victory in the
110m hurdles
in Athens; Carl
Lewis wins
another gold
medal in Los
Angeles 1984.
Qatar at the Olympic Games
1984
The 1984 Summer
Olympics were
celebrated in Los
Angeles, USA. Carl Lewis
made the his first of four
appearances in the
Olympics, and equalled
the performance of
Jesse Owens of 1936 by
winning four gold
medals in the 100m,
200m, 4x100m relay and
the Long Jump. In their
first Olympics, Qatar
competed in the men’s
football and athletics
events.
1988
The 1988 Summer
Olympics were hosted by
Seoul, South Korea. The
Canadian Ben Johnson
won the 100m in a new
world record, but was
disqualified after testing
positive for steroids.
Tennis returned to the
Olympics after a 64-year
absence and Steffi Graf
added to her four Grand
Slam victories in the
year by also winning the
Olympic title. Qatar
fielded just one
athlete - in the men’s
10,000m.
1992
The 1992 Summer
Olympic Games were
held in Barcelona, Spain.
In basketball, the
admittance of pro
players led to the
American Dream Team,
led by Michael Jordan,
which won the gold
medal with ease. Qatar’s
football team won the
Gulf Cup that year and
competed in the football
competition, while
Mohammed Suleiman
took the bronze medal
– Qatar’s first Olympic
prize - in the 1500m.
1996
The 1996 Summer
Olympics, known as the
Centennial Olympics,
were celebrated in
Atlanta, United States.
Cycling professionals
were admitted to the
Olympics for the first
time, with five-time Tour
de France winner Miguel
Indurain winning the
inaugural individual time
trial event. Qatar sent
competitors in athletics
and for the first time in
shooting.
2000
The 2000 Summer
Olympics were
celebrated in 2000 in
Sydney, Australia . The
local star Cathy Freeman
won the women’s 400m
final in front of a jubilant
Sydney crowd at the
Olympic Stadium. Qatar
sent competitors in
athletics, shooting, table
tennis, and weightlifting
with Said Saad Asaad
winning the bronze
medal in the Men’s
105kg weightlifting. Bilal
Saad finished tenth in
the men’s shot-put.
2004
The 2004 Summer
Olympic Games were
staged in Athens,
Greece. Liu Xiang
became the first Chinese
man to win an Olympic
track and field gold
medal when he won the
110 metres hurdles as
China came within four
gold medals of the USA.
Qatar sent participants
in athletics, shooting,
swimming and
weightlifting with Musa
Amer coming closest to
a medal with a fourth in
the final of the men’s
3,000m steeplechase.
16 QatarSport Q3 .08