Marshall Islands at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Marshall Islands at the Olympic Games
Flag of the Marshall Islands – Flag bearers IOC code  MHL NOC Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
Competitors	5 in 3 sports
Flag bearer	Waylon Muller
Medals	Gold 0	Silver 0	Bronze 0	Total 0
Olympic history (summary)
Summer Games
2008

The Marshall Islands gained International Olympic Committee recognition in 2007, and sent a team to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, for their first ever appearance.

Athletes representing the Marshall Islands participated in four different events. Anju Jason was the first Marshallese athlete ever to qualify for the Olympic Games. He represented his country in Taekwondo.^[1] Jared Heine is a swimmer and competed in the 100 meter backstroke. In Athletics, the nation was represented by Roman Cress who ran in the Men's 100 metres.^[2] Haley Nemra also represented the Marshall Islands running in the Women's 800 metres. Nemra, whose father is a native Marshallese, is a University of San Francisco student who has never been to the country.^[3]

History

Marshall Islands is a Micronesian island nation, located in the western Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. The island has a population of approximately 60,000. The island nation was controlled by the United States, and prior to that by Japan and Germany at different times in its history, until gaining its sovereignty. In 1979, the Government of the Marshall Islands was officially established and the country became self-governing. In 1986 the Compact of Free Association with the United States entered into force, granting the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) its sovereignty. The island nation is made up of twenty-nine atolls and five single islands.^[4][5]

The Marshall Islands created its National Olympic Committee in 2001, and gained International Olympic Committee recognition in 2007 during the IOC's on February 12, 2007.^[4] The admittance of Marshall Islands, along with Montenegro (who participated as Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Summer Olympics) and Tuvalu brings the total number of nations competing in the 2008 Olympics to 205.^[6]

Athletics (Track & Field)

Main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee (NOC)official logo.

Athlete	Events	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Roman William Cress	Men's 100 m	11.18	72	Did not advance
Haley Nemra	Women's 800 m	2:18.83	38	Did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Events	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Jared J Heine	Men's 100 m backstroke	58.86	42	Did not advance
Julianne Kirchner	Women's 50 m freestyle	30.42	75	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main articles: Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics and Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Qualification

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage Quarterfinals	Repechage Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
Anju Jason	−80 kg	Aaron Cook (GBR) L 7-0	Did not advance

References

1. ^ "Panda Express' Anju Jason Qualifies for Beijing Olympics". Panda Express. July 17, 2008. http://www.yokwe.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2231. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
2. ^ Weiner, Jay (May 8, 2008). "Runner's Olympic dream coming true -- 8 years late". MinnPost. http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/05/08/1776/runners_olympic_dream_coming_true_--_8_years_late. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
3. ^ Raley Dan (July 31, 2008). "Marshall Islands sends Washington student to Olympics". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/07/31/sports/doc4891ffb076262011482845.txt. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "2008 Summer Olympics Country Profile". NBCOlympics.com. http://www.nbcolympics.com/countries/country=mhl/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
5. ^ "Marshall Islands Ready to Join Olympics". SFGate. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/02/05/sports/s055302S99.DTL&type=printable. Retrieved 2008-08-01. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Two new National Olympic Committees on board!". International Olympic Committee. 2007-07-06. http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=2237. Retrieved 2007-07-08. ""the number of National Olympic Committees across the globe now totals 205"" 

1. http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/athletes?country_codes=MHL