Tanzania at the Olympics
The African nation Tanzania first competed at the Olympic Games in 1964. Tanganyika and Zanzibar had merged to form Tanzania in April 1964, though at their first Olympic appearance they competed under the name of Tanganyika. From then on, they competed under the name Tanzania.
Tanzania has taken part in all summer Olympics since 1964 except for when it joined the African boycott of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games.
Tanzania which has the habit of competing only in the athletics competition finally sent its first-ever female competitor in swimming to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games.
Tanzania already nailed a couple of medals at the Olympics thanks to its talented long-distance runners. 1980 proved to be a golden year for Tanzania since it captured a couple of silver medals in the track and field competition at the Moscow Olympics. Suleiman Nyambui (men’s 5,000 meter run) and Fibert Bayi (men’s 3000 meter run, steeplechase) finished second on their events to bring honor to the country that has been yearning for Olympic glory.
Trivia
At the Mexico Olympics in 1968, one of the greatest inspirational stories from the Olympics: "My country did not send me 10,000 miles just to start the race; they sent me to finish the race." John Stephen Akhwari, from Tanzania, the last to finish the marathon.
Related Pages
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Tanzania
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