Syria’s Country Profile
Official country name: Syrian Arab Republic.
Area: 71,062 sq miles (185,180 sq km), including 805 square miles (1,295 sq km) of Israeli-occupied territory.
Population: 19.3 million (2007), not including 1.4 million Iraqi refugees and 500,000 Palestinian refugees.
Median age: 21.1
Ethnic Groups: Arab, 90 percent; Kurds, Armenians and others, 10 percent.
GDP and GDP per capita: $24.3 billion and $4,100
Read a complete country profile of Syria
Syria’s Olympic History
First time represented at Summer Olympics: 1948
Gold medals won: 1
Silver: 1
Bronze: 1
Athletes at the Beijing Olympics: 8
Number of Sports competing in at Beijing Olympics: 5
Medals at 2008 Beijing Olympics: 0
Syria’s Olympic Playbook
On the list of unfree and rather drab countries, Syria ranks pretty high. Or low. Frustration makes for good boxers: Syria’s last Olympic medals, one of three since its first Games in 1948, was a bronze, won by heavyweight boxer Naser Al Shami in Athens.
Ghada Shouaa won Syria a gold in the heptathlon in 1996 (one of the only two women in the Arab world to win a gold, ever, and one of just three in the greater Middle East to do so. Nawal El Moutawakel won a gold for Morocco in the 400m hurdles in Los Angeles in 2004. Turkish eighlifter Nurcan Taylan won a gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004. That just about wraps it up for women and gold in the Mideast, unfortunately). Joseph Atiyeh won a silver in freestyle wrestling in 1984.
Syria has recently been sending a few swimmer to the Olympics, and will send three to Beijing, the largest contingent of its delegation of eight, but the swimmers will be missing 25-year-old Rafed El-Masri. He swam for Syria in Athens. This time around the 2006 Asian champion will be swimming for Germany.
Syria’s Athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Shooting
Roger Dahi
Swimming
Bayan Jumah
Souhaib Kalala
Saleh Mohammad
Track & Field/Athletics
Fadwa Albouza
Majed Aldin Gazal
Triathlon
Oma Tayara
Weightlifting
Ahed Joughili