Mauritania at the 2024 Summer Olympics
| Mauritania at the 2024 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | MTN |
| NOC | Comité National Mauritanien |
| in Paris, France 26 July 2024 – 11 August 2024 | |
| Competitors | 2 in 2 sports |
| Flag bearer | Camil Doua & Salam Bouha Ahamdy |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Mauritania competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris which took place from 26 July to 11 August 2024. It was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1984. The delegation consisted of two athletes: sprinter Salam Bouha Ahamdy, who competed in the women's 100 m event, and swimmer Camil Doua, who competed in the men's 50 m freestyle.
Ahamdy and Doua led the Mauritanian squad as the flagbearers in the opening ceremony, and the flag was held by a volunteer in the closing ceremony. Ahamdy ran a time of 13.71 and did not advance past her heat. Doua swam a time of 26.02 in his event, which was also not fast enough to advance to the next round; he finished 54th overall. Thus, Mauritania had yet to win an Olympic medal.
Background
[edit]Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country located in Northwest Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and Mali. In 2023 the country had a estimated population of 4,245,000.[1] Formerly a French colony within French West Africa, Mauritania gained independence in 1960.[2] The Mauritanian National Olympic and Sports Committee was formed in 1962 and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1979.[3] Mauritania had participated in every Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. No Mauritanian had won a medal at the Olympics.[4]
The 2024 Summer Olympics took place from 26 July to 11 August 2024.[5] Sprinter Salam Bouha Ahamdy made her debut in the women's 100 metres,[6][7] and swimmer Camil Doua made his Olympic debut in the men's 50 m freestyle event.[8] Ahamdy and Doua served as flagbearers during the parade of nations at the opening ceremony,[9] and the flag was held by a volunteer in the closing ceremony.[10]
Competitors
[edit]Doua was 22 years old at the time of the Olympics.[11][12] He qualified via a universality place, which were reserved for athletes from under-represented nations, and was Mauritania's debut Olympic swimmer.[13][4] He had previously attempted to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics but said that he was unable to do so without abandoning his French citizenship due to Mauritanian law at the time. By 2023, this situation had changed, and he was able to obtain dual citizenship and represent Mauritania in international competitions.[12][14][15] At the time, Camil held several Mauritanian national records, including in the 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 50 m butterfly, and 50 m backstroke events.[14] In preparation for the Olympics, he was trained by French Olympic medalist Grégory Mallet.[16]
Ahamdy was 23 years old at the time of the Olympics. She was making her first appearance at the games.[6] She qualified via universality place.[17]
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swimming | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Athletics
[edit]Mauritania sent one sprinter to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[18][19] She competed in the women's 100 m event, held on 2 August. She was drawn in heat one in the preliminaries. Ahamdy finished eighth out of nine athletes in her heat with a time of 13.71 seconds, failing to qualify for the heats round.[20] After the race, Ahamdy went to help Lucia Moris of South Sudan, who had fallen due to a leg injury and was unable to finish.[21]
- Track and road events
| Athlete | Event | Preliminary | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Salam Bouha Ahamdy | Women's 100 m | 13.71 | 8 in heat | Did not advance | |||||
Swimming
[edit]Mauritania sent one swimmer to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In preparation for the Games, Doua was trained by French Olympic medalist Grégory Mallet.[16] Doua was making his first appearance at the games[8] and had qualified via universality place.[13] He competed in the men's 50 m freestyle event, held on 1 August. He was drawn in heat four in the heats. Doua finished last out of eight athletes in his heat and 54th overall with a time of 26.02 seconds, failing to qualify for the semifinal round.[22]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Camil Doua | Men's 50 m freestyle | 26.02 | 54 | Did not advance | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Country Summary". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "Mauritania vote 'free and fair'". BBC News. 12 March 2007. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Национальные олимпийские комитеты Африки — Олимпийский комитет России" [National Olympic Committees of Africa] (in Russian). Russian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Olympedia – Mauritania (MTN)". Olympedia.org. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "When the 2024 Paris Olympics start, end this summer". NBC Chicago. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ a b "Salam Bouha Ahamdy | NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Salam Bouha AHAMDY". Olympics. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Camil Doua". Olympics.com. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Paris 2024: Opening ceremony flagbearers information" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ Braidwood, Jamie (11 August 2024). "Every Olympic flagbearer for Paris 2024 closing ceremony including Alex Yee and Katie Ledecky". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "السباح ولد الدوة يمثل موريتانيا في البطولة العالمية للسباحة بقطر" [Swimmer Ould Doua represents Mauritania in the World Swimming Championships in Qatar]. Tawassoul.net (in Arabic). 13 February 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024.
- ^ a b Queuille, Marjorie (17 April 2024). "En route vers les JO. Natation : la folle quête de Camil Ould Doua, au nom de la Mauritanie" [On the way to the Olympics. Swimming: the crazy quest of Camil Ould Doua, on behalf of Mauritania]. Sud Ouest (in French). Archived from the original on 6 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Parigi 2024 - Qualificazioni Olimpiadi: quando si gareggia, le date, gli italiani e come guadagnare il pass". www.eurosport.it. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ a b Wong, Claire (5 March 2024). "Mauritania selects swimmer Camil Ould Doua to be flag bearer at Paris 2024 Olympics". SwimSwam. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "جمعية جسور الخير تكرم السباح الموريتاني الدولي كامل ولد الدوه" [Mauritanian international swimmer Kamel Ould Al-Douh]. Essada (in Arabic). 20 February 2024.
- ^ a b Queuille, Marjorie (17 April 2024). "En route vers les JO. Natation : Grégory Mallet, entraîneur et un peu plus que ça pour le Girondin Camil Ould Doua" [On the way to the Olympics. Swimming: Grégory Mallet, coach and a little more than that for Girondin Camil Ould Doua]. Sud Ouest (in French). Archived from the original on 6 July 2024.
- ^ Cousin, Victor (1 August 2024). "JO Paris 2024 : « Je ne sais pas ce qu'il s'est passé »... Une marathonienne va courir le 100 m pour les Salomon" [Paris 2024 Olympics: "I don't know what happened" ... A marathon runner will run the 100m for the Solomon Islands]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "Athletics | Paris 24 | Olympic Games". [[World Athletics]]. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "Athletics Paris 2024 Final Entries". World Athletics. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Women's 100m - Preliminary Round - Heat 1/4 results" (PDF). Olympics. 2 August 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Kim, Juliana (2 August 2024). "An Olympic sprinter fell during a race. The first person to help was her opponent". NPR. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Results" (PDF). olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.