Monaco, a small sovereign city-state on the French Riviera, made its Olympic debut at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium, with four athletes: sprinter and long jumper Edmond Médecin, middle-distance runner Émile Barral, and gymnasts Joseph Crovetto and Michel Porasso. Since then, Monaco has missed only three Summer Games: 1932 (although it still had entrants in the art competitions that year), 1956, and 1980, when it joined the US-led boycott of the Moscow Games.

Monaco has competed at every Summer and Winter Games since 1984. Across 34 appearances up to and including Milano Cortina 2026 (22 Summer and 12 Winter), no Monegasque athlete has won a medal in a sporting event. That is the most Olympic appearances of any nation without reaching the podium.

Quick Facts

Summer debut 1920 Antwerp (4 athletes)
Winter debut 1984 Sarajevo (1 athlete)
Summer Games missed 1932, 1956, 1980
Appearances 34 (22 Summer, 12 Winter)
Sporting medals 0
Best result 6th, two-man bobsleigh, Beijing 2022
Latest Games Paris 2024 (6 athletes), Milano Cortina 2026 (1 athlete)

The Only Medal: Art, Not Sport

Monaco's only Olympic Games medal came from the art competitions. Monegasque architect Julien Médecin won bronze at the 1924 Paris Olympics for his design of a stadium for Monte Carlo. Art competition medals are not counted in the official Olympic medal tables, so Monaco is still waiting for its first sporting medal. Monaco has also won a bronze medal in bobsleigh at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck.

Best Results

  • Overall: Rudy Rinaldi and Boris Vain finished 6th in the two-man bobsleigh at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the best result by any Monegasque athlete at the Olympics.
  • Summer Games: Monaco's best finishes are equal ninth, both in judo: Yann Siccardi in the men's extra-lightweight class (-60 kg) at London 2012, and Cédric Bessi in the men's lightweight class (-73 kg) at Tokyo 2020.

Paris 2024

Monaco sent six athletes (three men and three women) across five sports to Paris 2024, its 22nd Summer Games. Swimmers Théo Druenne and Lisa Pou were the flag bearers.

Athlete Sport Event Result
Marie-Charlotte Gastaud Athletics Women's 100m Did not advance (12.41, personal best)
Marvin Gadeau Judo Men's +100 kg Lost in round of 16
Quentin Antognelli Rowing Men's single sculls 19th
Théo Druenne Swimming Men's 800m freestyle Did not advance (8:25.01)
Lisa Pou Swimming Women's 10km open water 18th
Yang Xiaoxin Table tennis Women's singles Lost in round of 64

Winter Olympics

Monaco made its Winter Olympics debut in 1984, when alpine skier David Lajoux competed in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Monaco has been at every Winter Games since, but like in the Summer Games, it has yet to win a medal. Prince Albert II competed in bobsleigh at five Winter Olympics, from Calgary 1988 to Salt Lake City 2002.

At Milano Cortina 2026, alpine skier Arnaud Alessandria was Monaco's only athlete. At his third Winter Games (after Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022), and just months after surgery on two herniated discs, he finished 31st in the downhill and 30th in the super-G at Bormio. Bobsledder Boris Vain and figure skater Davide Lewton-Brain both narrowly missed qualifying. More details are on the Monaco at the Winter Olympics page.

Did You Know?

  • Although Monaco did not send any athletes to the 1932 Los Angeles Games, it still had entrants in the art competitions.
  • Princess Charlène of Monaco is also an Olympian. Before her marriage to Prince Albert II, she swam for South Africa at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where her team finished fifth in the women's 4 × 100m medley relay.