Iceland at the Olympics
Iceland first competed in the Summer Games in 1908 London Games by sending a single athlete, wrestler Jóhannes Jósefsson, but their national Olympic committee was not organized until 1921 and it took fourteen years before it was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
Iceland was also in the 1912 Summer Games in Stockholm, Sweden but Olympic historians are split if Iceland should be considered a separate entity from Denmark despite the fact that Iceland was not an independent country at the time. Since 1936 however, Iceland has been competing in every Summer Games but their first break came in 1956 when Vilhjálmur Einarsson won the silver in men's triple jump thus giving Iceland its first-ever Olympic medal.
In 1984, judoka Bjarni Friðriksson brought Iceland her second Olympic medal when he won the bronze in the men's half heavyweight division in Los Angeles, California, USA. They had to until 2000 Sydney Olympics before Iceland will got her third Olympic medal from Vala Flosadóttir and 2008 for their second silver medal from their national handball team.
Iceland has also had an almost perfect attendance in the Winter Olympics since their debut in 1948 missing only the 1972 Winter Games which was held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Iceland is yet to win her first Olympic medal from the Winter Games.
Trivia
- At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, triple jumper Vilhjálmur Einarsson broke the Olympic record with a leap of 16.26 meters, bit finished second. He was Iceland's first medallist, and from that time onwards was known as the "silver man". He went on the be voted Iceland's sportsperson of the year five times.
Related Pages
- Iceland at the Winter Olympics
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Iceland
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