Vietnam At The Olympic Games: Top 7 Facts

Hoang Xuan Vinh’s gold-medal victory in the men’s 10-meter air pistol competition isn’t the only interesting news about Vietnam’s participation in the Olympic Games.

While we like to write about the new Vietnam, it’s always worth looking at what’s happened in the past to get excited about the future.

Here are the top 7 facts that Vietcetera found out about Vietnam and its Olympic history:

1. Vietnam has never sent a representative to the Winter Olympics

Vietnam was the only communist affiliated country to not participate in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, which was the first Olympics held in a communist state.

2. The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles saw Vietnam join the Eastern Bloc boycott of the Games

3. Vietnam won its first Olympic medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney in the women’s 57kg Taekwondo event

4. The country made its Paralympic Games debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney

5. Vietnam has to-date, won four Olympic medals in three sports: Shooting (2, 50m pistol and 10 meter air pistol), Taekwondo (1 in women’s 57kg), and Weightlifting (1 in men’s 56kg)

6. There were more Vietnamese female athletes than male athletes in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London

2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations

7. The London games saw the youngest delegation sent to the Games in Vietnam’s Olympic history, with half of the representatives under the age of 24