South Sudan at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Sporting event delegation

South Sudan at the
2020 Summer Olympics

IOC code| SSD
NOC| South Sudan National Olympic Committee
in Tokyo
July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) – August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08)
Competitors| 2 in 1 sport
Flag bearers (opening)| Lucia Moris
Abraham Guem
Flag bearer (closing)| Abraham Guem
Medals|

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Other related appearances
Sudan (1960–)
Independent Olympic Athletes (2012)

South Sudan competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled for 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and took place on 23 July to 8 August 2021. After the South Sudan National Olympic Committee's recognition by the International Olympic Committee in 2015, this was the nation's second appearance at the Summer Olympics (after its debut in 2016). The delegation consisted of two athletes: Abraham Guem and Lucia Moris in athletics.

South Sudan did not win any medals during the Paris Olympics. Guem and Moris were the flagbearers in the opening ceremony, and Guem was the flagbearer at the closing ceremony.

## Background

[edit]

South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011, but the South Sudanese Civil War made it difficult for the nation to garner the support of five sport federations as required for its National Olympic Committee to gain recognition by the International Olympic Committee.[1] Guor Marial, a South Sudanese refugee living in the United States, competed in the men's marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but did so as an Independent Olympic Athlete after refusing to compete for Sudan.[1] South Sudan became the 206th IOC member in August 2015, with the affiliations of track and field, basketball, association football, handball, judo, table tennis, and taekwondo.[1]

The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020. The Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3] South Sudan sent a delegation of two athletes.[4] Abraham Guem and Lucia Moris served as the team's flagbearers in the opening ceremony,[5] while Abraham Guem was the sole flagbearer in the closing ceremony.[6]

## Competitors

[edit]

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.

Sport  | Men  | Women  | Total

|
|
|

Athletics | 1 | 1 | 2
Total | 1 | 1 | 2

## Athletics

[edit]

Main articles: Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

South Sudan was represented by one male and one female athlete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in athletics: Guem in the men's 1500 metres run and Moris in the women's 200 metres run.[4] Both qualified via universality place.[7][8][a] This was Guem's debut appearance at the Olympics.[10] He participated in the heats of the men's 1500 metres race in heat one. He finished the race in 3:40.86, 13th out of 16 competitors in his heat, and failed to advanced to the semifinals. The gold medal was eventually won in 3:28.32 seconds by Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, the silver by Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, and the bronze by Josh Kerr of Great Britain.[11]

Moris debuted at this Olympics.[12] She participated in round 1 of the women's 200 metres race in heat two. She finished the race in 25.24 seconds, sixth out of seven in her heat, and failed to advance to the semifinals. The gold medal was won in 21.53 seconds by Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica, the silver by Christine Mboma of Namibia, and the bronze by Gabrielle Thomas of America.[13]

Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* NR = National record
* PB = Personal Best

Track & road events
Athlete  | Event  | Heat  | Semifinal  | Final

|
|
|
|

Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank  | Result  | Rank
Abraham Guem | Men's 1500 m | 3:40.86 PB | 13  | Did not advance
Lucia Moris | Women's 200 m | 25.24  | 6  | Did not advance

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Universality places are places awarded to countries that send small delegations to the Olympics. They let the nation's best athlete qualify for the Olympics.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "South Sudan to compete in Rio after becoming 206th Olympic nation". The Guardian. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
2. ^ "IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government announce new dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020". International Olympic Committee. 30 March 2020.
3. ^ García-Hodges, Ahiza; Talmazan, Yuliya; Yamamoto, Arata (24 March 2020). "Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed over coronavirus concerns". NBC News.
4. ^ a b "Olympedia – South Sudan at the 2020 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
5. ^ "Tokyo Olympics 2020 opening ceremony: Full list of flag-bearers". Sportstar. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
6. ^ "Tokyo-2020-Closing-Ceremony-Flag-bearers.pdf" (PDF). International Olympic Committee.
7. ^ "Kristina Knott sprints her way to Tokyo Olympics". Spin.ph. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
8. ^ "Abraham Guem and his race for peace – DW – 08/01/2021". dw.com. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
9. ^ "Explained: What are universality places?".
10. ^ "Guem Abraham". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
11. ^ "1500 m M - Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo - Results". www.olympiandatabase.com. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
12. ^ "Moris Lucia". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
13. ^ "200 m W - Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo - Results". www.olympiandatabase.com. Retrieved 20 January 2025.

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National Olympic Committees at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
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* Central African Republic
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* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
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* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
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* Uganda
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* Zimbabwe

Americas|

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Asia|

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Europe|

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Oceania|

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* Tonga
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Others|

* IOC Refugee Olympic Team
* ROC athletes

Withdrawn|

* North Korea

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South Sudan at the Summer Olympics

* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

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