Eleven short seconds. This is how long the 2024 Olympic Games lasted for some delegations, such as those from Nauru and Belize, which sent only one athlete – a 100-meter runner. They were not much longer for Liechtenstein and Somalia, the other two countries to have only one representative – respectively a mountain biker and an 800 meter specialist. Both curiosities of the Olympic village and leading personalities of their country, these athletes live an enchanted fortnight.
These nations, some of which are among the smallest in the world, benefit from Olympic rules which promote universalism and the widest possible representation. The athletes who inherit it speak of an unexpected responsibility, a source of pride but also of stress. For example, they found themselves standard bearers by default. Some like Shaun Gill, the Belizean, experienced it very well: his smiling patriotism despite the rain during the opening ceremony delighted more than 2 million Internet users.
Surprised by his new fame – he imagines himself to be “the most famous man” of his country–, Gill now signs autographs in the Olympic village. “I told a friend that I will need a bodyguard soon”he jokes. The 31-year-old sprinter, who nevertheless admitted to particular pressure, did not manage to run as fast as he had imagined and to get out of the preliminary round of the 100 meters. Now retired from high-level sport, he plans to begin a dual career as a coach and engineer in Belize.
Due to the nature of his discipline, Somali runner Ali Idow Hassan ran another 700 meters, but also had to settle for a short run before being eliminated. If, with the BBC, he said to himself “very happy” to represent Somalia, even alone, he still points out the impression of solitude that this strange experience gives him. Fortunately, Hassan has made some friendships with other African athletes. The Olympic Village overall made the experience less strange for each of these unique representatives.
Ultra-personalized training… or almost non-existent
Romano Püntener, the mountain biker who competes alone for Liechtenstein, can confirm. The man who raced down Élancourt Hill under the eyes of his Prime Minister became friends with none other than Andy Murray. The British tennis legend, who played the last tournament of his career at the Roland-Garros stadium, wanted to exchange his pin with Püntener given the rarity of the Liechtenstein one.
The 20-year-old cyclist finished the race twenty-eighth out of thirty-six participants. Far from being favorite for the podium, he simply took advantage of the moment with the thirty compatriots who came to encourage him. The support was also virtual. “I felt like I was receiving a message from every inhabitant of Liechtensteinhe exclaims. My phone and my Instagram stopped working!”
This small country located between Switzerland and Austria and populated by some 39,000 inhabitants only sends few athletes to the Olympic Games, especially in summer. But with its ten medals in alpine skiing, Liechtenstein has the best ratio of charms per capita in the world. Having decidedly more resources than the other sole representatives of Paris 2024, Püntener experienced very well the fact of having “really been able to build the technical team around (him)” for his first Olympics.
For others, participating in the Games is already an achievement. This is the case of Winzar Kakiouea, the sprinter from Nauru. Its Pacific island, the smallest republic in the world, has fewer than 13,000 inhabitants and depends on international aid. Kakiouea can’t even train on a real athletics track and has to make do with a “earth oval”he told the New York Times. Many of the people he met in Paris had never even heard of Nauru.
The participation of Ali Idow Hassan would also deserve a medal in itself. His country, Somalia, has been gripped by civil war for more than thirty years and sends only a handful of athletes per Games among its 17 million inhabitants. Hassan, who is forced to train in Ethiopia, hopes that a return of security to Somalia will allow more athletes to be sent in the future. “One day, ten, a hundred athletes will be here”he wants to believe.
