Eritrea (ERI)

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) granted provisional recognition to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Eritrea in 1998 and full recognition followed in 1999. Eritrea was the northernmost province of Ethiopia until it became independent in May 1993. Prior to Eritrean independence, several of their athletes competed for Ethiopia at the Olympics. Eritrea first competed at the Olympics in 2000 at Sydney, represented by two male and one female runners in track & field athletics.

In 2004, Zersenay Tadese won a bronze medal for Eritrea in the men’s 10,000 metres run, the only Eritrean medal to date. Through 2022, Eritrean athletes have only competed in track & field athletics at the Olympics, represented by 24 men and 7 women, plus four cyclists and a single swimmer, Ghirmai Efrem (who competed in the 50 metres Freestyle at Tokyo 2020).

In 2018, Shannon-Ogbani Abeda was Eritrea’s first athlete at the Olympic Winter Games, in Alpine skiing, competing in men’s slalom and giant slalom. He returned at Beijing 2022 to focus solely on the giant slalom, achieving his best appearance, a 39th position out of 87 competitors.