Buzz
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Flora Duffy, aged 33, secured a historic win in the women’s individual triathlon, bringing pride to Bermuda. Her hard-fought triumph marked Bermuda as the smallest nation ever to claim an Olympic gold medal. Let’s revisit nine other remarkable Olympic moments from underdog nations.
1. Grenada // 2012 London Summer Olympics
Grenada, a small Caribbean nation, earned its first Olympic medal thanks to 19-year-old Kirani James, who clinched gold in the 400-meter dash. As the 11th-smallest country globally, Grenada became the smallest nation at the time to achieve this feat.
2. India // 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics
Despite being the second-most populated country globally, India had only secured 20 medals before the 2012 London Olympics. However, India has been a powerhouse in field hockey, maintaining an impressive 30-game winning streak from 1928 to 1960 and claiming six gold medals during that period.
Field hockey was introduced to India by British officers in Kolkata's elite sporting clubs during the 1880s, and its popularity rapidly grew. Although the Indian team began international play in 1926, they made a stunning Olympic debut in 1928, dominating the competition without allowing a single goal. This tournament also launched the career of hockey’s first global icon, 22-year-old Dhyan Chand, whose legacy is so profound that Pakistani legend Habib-ur-Rehman is referred to as the “Dhyan Chand of Pakistan,” and emerging talents are often hailed as “the modern-day Dhyan Chand.”
3. Kenya // 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics
While East African nations, especially Kenya and Ethiopia, now lead the world in distance running, this wasn’t always the case.
Kipchoge Keino, who spent his childhood herding sheep in Kenya’s rural areas, used to run four miles barefoot to school every morning. A natural talent, Keino qualified for the 1964 Olympics without any coaching. By 1965, he became the first African ever to run a mile in under four minutes, clocking 3:54.2, just a second shy of the world record.
Despite not being a favorite at the Mexico City Games, Keino leveraged the high altitude to his benefit, setting a relentless pace that left his competitors behind. He secured Kenya’s first Olympic gold and added another medal in Mexico City, followed by two more in the 1972 Olympics. One of his most remarkable achievements came in Munich when, faced with a scheduling conflict for the 5K, he spontaneously entered the steeplechase and won gold.
4. Jamaica // 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics
The Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation, famously depicted in the 1993 film Cool Runnings, was established by George Fitch, an American businessman living in Jamaica. Inspired by a pushcart derby, Fitch and a friend speculated that bobsledding could be a viable sport for Jamaicans. With funding from Fitch and the Jamaican Tourist Board, the team struggled to find recruits and eventually turned to the Jamaican Defence Force for volunteers.
While Cool Runnings accurately portrays the initial skepticism and media mockery the Jamaican team faced, other Olympic teams were supportive, with one even offering a backup sled. Beyond the film’s dramatic crash, the real-life team persevered, improved, and became competitive. By the 1994 Olympics, they outperformed both U.S. teams, finishing in 14th place. The Jamaican bobsled team remains active and continues to make strides in the sport.
5. Nigeria // 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics
While Pele’s famous prophecy that an African soccer team would win the World Cup by 2000 didn’t come true, it wasn’t far from reality. In 1996, Nigeria made history by securing an Olympic gold, fulfilling the aspirations of an entire continent.
The Nigerian team faced no easy path, defeating World Cup champions Brazil in the semifinals after overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the last 12 minutes and winning in extra time. They then triumphed over a strong Argentine team in the final with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory.
Their win prompted congratulatory calls from African heads of state to the Nigerian government, and a national holiday was declared the following Monday. Four years later, Africa celebrated another victory when Cameroon beat Spain to claim gold in Sydney.
6. The Tropical Lugers // 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
During the early 1990s, luge faced a decline in participating nations, threatening to drop below the IOC’s required minimum of 25 countries. To address this, the International Luge Federation launched a program to attract and train athletes from tropical regions.
Among the participants in the training initiative, three athletes qualified for the Olympics. Indian luger Shiva Keshavan, using a sled assembled from eight-year-old spare parts, secured 28th place, while Bermuda’s Patrick Singleton ranked 27th out of 34 competitors. (Singleton famously wore Bermuda shorts during the Salt Lake City Opening Ceremonies in 17-degree weather.) Venezuela’s Iginia Boccalandro Valentina finished 28th among 30 female competitors.
All three athletes returned to subsequent Olympics, inspiring more tropical nations to join the sport. By 2002, the program had enabled participants from Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and the Virgin Islands to compete. Notable among them were 48-year-old Warner Hoegger and his 17-year-old son Christopher from Venezuela, who made history as the first father-son duo to compete in the same modern Olympic event.
7. Equatorial Guinea // 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics
When the IOC allowed nations to send up to two swimmers without meeting qualification standards, Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea stepped forward to represent his country.
Moussambani learned to swim in a 20-meter hotel pool to prepare for the 50-meter freestyle, having never swum in an Olympic-sized pool before. However, upon arriving in Sydney, his coach entered him in the 100-meter freestyle. During his heat, the other two swimmers were disqualified, meaning Moussambani only needed to complete the race to advance.
Struggling with the longer distance and unable to touch the bottom, Moussambani nearly gave up 20 meters from the finish. His frantic strokes prompted lifeguards to prepare for a rescue, but he steadied himself and reached the wall. With a time of 112 seconds, he set the slowest recorded time in history, earning the nickname “Eric the Eel” and becoming a media sensation.
8. Australia // 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
Despite Australia’s 8th-place ranking in Summer Olympic medals and its advanced athletic programs, the nation has lagged in Winter Games success. Although Australia has participated in every Olympics since 1936, it wasn’t until 1994 that they won their first medal in short-track speedskating.
Steven Bradbury, a member of that 1994 team, competed in three more Olympics but faced significant injuries, leaving him with little hope for the 2002 Games. He adopted a strategy of staying behind his competitors, hoping for accidents. Incredibly, his plan succeeded as disqualifications and falls allowed him to reach the finals. In a dramatic turn, a massive crash involving Apollo Anton Ohno and three others left Bradbury to claim victory, securing Australia’s first Winter Olympics gold medal.
Bradbury, nicknamed the “Accidental Gold Medalist,” initially had mixed emotions about his victory but later acknowledged it as the result of 12 years of dedication. Shortly after his win, freestyle aerialist Alisa Camplin secured another Winter gold for Australia through a more conventional performance.
9. Zimbabwe // 2004-2012 Summer Olympics
Kirsty Coventry accounts for seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals, having triumphed over some of the sport’s greatest athletes. Despite minimal government support for athletics and a lack of indoor pools, Coventry earned a scholarship to Auburn University, where she won seven NCAA titles and set multiple world records in backstroke and individual medley events. After her success in Beijing, Zimbabwe’s controversial president, Robert Mugabe, gifted her a suitcase filled with $100,000 in cash, sparking further debate due to the country’s severe inflation crisis.
