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Eritrea at the Olympics

Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia but seceded and gained independence on May 25, 1993. The Eritrean National Olympic Committee (ERI) was a few years later but was not officially recognized until 1999 by the International Olympic Committee.



Previously, Eritrean athletes were part of the Ethiopian delegation from 1956 to 1992. They made their Olympic debut in 2000 by sending three athletes to Sydney, Australia. None of them were able to advance to the finals but in 2004, things turned around for Eritrea when Zersenay Tadese finished third in men's 10,000 meters at the Athens Olympics thus becoming Eritrea's first-ever Olympic medalist. For a relative newcomer to the Summer Games, Eritrea is doing quite well.

Eritrea is set to participate in their first Winter Olympic Games in 2018.



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