Olympedia – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

Recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 7 October 1965, at the IOC session in Madrid, Saudi Arabia has competed at every Olympic Games since 1972, with the exception of 1980.

Saudi Arabia won its first two Olympic medals at Sydney in 2000. Hadi Soua’an Al-Somaily won a silver in the men’s 400 metre hurdles, and Khaled Al-Eid won an equestrian bronze in individual show jumping.

Until 2008, Saudi Arabia had competed in 9 Olympic Games with 121 athletes but no women athletes. This became a point of contention with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC had discussions with Saudi Arabia about having female competitors, and, in 2012, two female athletes competed in London. Three female athletes followed at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and again two at Tokyo 2020.

Saudi Arabia competed for the first time in the Olympic Winter Games at Beijing 2022, sending a single Alpine skier, Fayik Abdi, who finished 44th in the men’s giant slalom.