Here's an Olympic question to ponder: What do Afghanistan, Bahrain, Sudan, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Togo have in common?
Outside Looking InBesides being warm of climate and, mostly, Muslim of religion, all six nations were first-time medal winners at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Together, they formed the latest class of contenders that fascinate sports fans watching with a geopolitical bent and handicapping the odds that any country has what it takes to cross the threshold from mere prospector to bona fide miner of Olympic ore.
Of 204 countries attending the 2012 Olympics, 80 have never won any medal. Of six Central American countries lying between Mexico and Panama, only one (Costa Rica) has won even a single medal. Albania, Yemen, Bolivia, Jordan, Cambodia, Fiji, Nepal, Somalia and the two Congos have never medaled either. And it's not for lack of trying. One or more Congos have competed at the Olympics since 1964; Bolivia has been going to the Games since 1936.
A slightly smaller group—just 20 countries—have medaled only once. The one-timers include Burundi, winner of a single gold for track and field in Atlanta in 1996, and the United Arab Emirates, which took gold in trap shooting in Athens in 2004. The U.A.E. is one of a few in the one-and-done clique—Iraq, Kuwait, Ivory Coast and Senegal are others—that have the size, the wealth, or both, to expect to compete for medals for decades to come.
But there's also no shortage of nations that haven't medaled in decades and may never again. Haiti's last medal (silver, in athletics) came in 1928. Niger won its only medal, a bronze, in 1972. The medalist—a welterweight boxer named Issake Dabore—was competing in his third Olympics.
The haves, who account for most of history's medal haul, obviously are bigger, richer countries. The U.S. has won more than 2,500 medals since the first modern Olympics in 1896, while athletes from various versions of Germany—East, West and united—have more than 1,500. China has accumulated just over 400 medals, all since 1984.
Lesser nations looking to become, or to remain, relevant in the medals chase usually follow basic strategies. One is specializing. Jamaica has become a power in sprinting, winning 55 medals since 1948, every one for races of 400 meters or less. Ethiopia's 38 medals have come in distance events. Chile once won medals regularly in boxing, athletics, equestrian and skeet shooting, but since 2004 has taken all of its medals in one sport: tennis. All of Malaysia's medals have come from badminton.
Another strategy: recruit in other countries. Basically, the Olympics permits any athlete a country considers a legal citizen to compete under its banner. Qatar has won two medals in track and weightlifting since 1992, once with a runner born in Somalia and the other with a power lifter, Said Saif Assad, who was born Angel Popov in Bulgaria. This summer, Qatar is pinning its medal hopes on a Nigerian runner, Femi Ogunode.
Countries looking to increase their medal count also are turning to Cuba—per capita one of the winningest nations in Olympic history, with 194 medals in its trophy case. Cuba has been sending its Olympic coaches abroad for decades as a form of foreign aid to "revolutionary" allies in Africa and Latin America. But over the past 10 years or so, Cuba also has been offering its services—for pay—to countries of means. Cuba said in May it had deployed 15,000 trainers to more than 100 countries preparing Olympic squads since 2010. India, Jordan and Argentina will each send boxers to London this summer accompanied by Cuban coaches who have spent years grooming a single prospect.
The Beijing Six
Which brings us back to the countries that won their first-ever medals at the last Olympics, and which offer tips on how never-weres can become first-timers. A safe bet is individual competition. In 2008, Tajikistan won its first medal, a bronze, in judo. Afghanistan won in taekwondo, and Mauritius in boxing. Bahrain and Sudan both won for men's track and field, while little Togo created a sensation when Benjamin Boukpeti, who was born in France, became the first African to medal in canoeing.
Edited By Cen Fox Post Team
