Did you know…
Prince Albert II – Monaco’s Head of State – is a fervent supporter of the Olympic Movement. He is president of the Monegasque Olympic Committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 2007, he visited the construction site of the Beijing headquarters. “China has already contributed a lot to the Olympic Movement. I hope that this will not only be a very successful Games (Beijing 2008) but embody the spirit,” he said. Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi likes all kinds of sports: rugby, football, handball, tennis, squash, golf and volleyball. He participated in bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in Canada (1988), France (1992), Norway (1994), Japan (1998), and the United States (2002). HSH Sovereign Prince Albert II was born on March 14, 1958 in Monaco.
The Principality of Monaco competed in the Summer Olympics for the first time at the 1920 Olympic Games in Belgium. He became the 25th member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The most popular athletes are: Sebastien Gatusso (100m, 200m, 4x100m/athletics), Alexandra Coletti (alpine skiing), Christophe Verdino (aquatics), Jean Charles Seneca (fencing), Francis Boisson (shooting), Brice Etes (800m/track and field), Patrice Servelle (bobsleigh), Lahcen Essoussi (10,000m/athletics), Jean-Luc Adomo (aquatics), Irene Tiendrebeogo (high jump/athletics), Joe Barrai (shooting), Irina Kazakova (10,000m/athletics ), Fabienne Pasetti (shooting), Jean Laurent Ravera (swimming), Sylvain Faure (aquatics), Olivier Jenot (alpine skiing), Jeremy Bottin (bobsleigh), Mustapha Tantan (10,000m/athletics).
Monte Carlo (Monaco) hosted the FINA Water Polo European Cup in 1947. Final ranking: 1.Italy, 2.Sweden, 3.Belgium.
The Principality of Monaco -it is the second smallest country in the world- did not participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow (USSR/Soviet Union). Why? This European country boycotted the Games to protest the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.
The most popular sports in Monaco are football, tennis, judo, fencing, boxing, basketball, athletics, water sports…
This European country hosted the 2nd Session of the IOC in 1927.
Sebastien Gattuso is one of the best sprinters in Monaco. Sebastien was the flag bearer for the Monegasque Olympic team in Athens 2004. He also participated in the 2007 World Track and Field Championships held in Osaka (Japan).
This European country sent 8 athletes to the 1984 Olympic Games in California (USA). He competed in five sports: athletics (1), fencing (1), wrestling (1), shooting (4), and swimming (1).
The Monegasque Olympic Committee was founded in 1907.
Monte Carlo hosted the Fencing World Cup in 1950.
The Principality of Monaco was one of the 80 countries that participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Monaco’s debut at the Winter Games took place in 1984 in Sarajevo (former Yugoslavia/present-day Bosnia Herzegovina).
This country won a bronze medal at the 1963 Mediterranean Games in Naples (Italy).
The 2007 European Small States Games were held in Monaco (Monaco). For the second time, the Games were held in this European country. In total, around 1,200 athletes from 8 countries competed in 12 sports (aquatics, athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, bowls, gymnastics, judo, sailing, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball). It was the beginning of a new time in the history of sport in Monaco. During an interview, Yvette Lambin-Bertin (president of the Organizing Committee of the Games) said: “The idea of the Games of the Small States of Europe arose during a meeting between the leaders of those countries in 1984 at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The following year, this new sporting event focused on friendship, brotherhood and solidarity was launched in San Marino European countries with a population of less than one million inhabitants recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Committees Europeans ( EOC ) participate in the event, that is, eight nations: Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino Organized every two years, the second edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe was held in Monaco in 1987…”
medal count
Ranking……….Gold…Silver…Bronze…Overall
1.Cyprus……….36……….33……..24…….93
2.Iceland……….31………23……..24…….78
3.Luxembourg…20………25……..36…….81
4.Monaco………19………16……..17……52
5.Malta…………4…………9……..17……30
6. Andorra……….4…………6……..7…….17
7. San Marino …… 4 ………. 6 ………. 6 ……. 16
8.Liechtenstein…3………..5……….5…….13
