Qatar shines, but Bahrain outshines other Gulf countries in Paris Olympics

Published: 11 August 2024

By Godwin Isaac K

DOHA: The 33rd Summer Olympic Games in Paris concluded on Sunday, with Bahrain emerging as the top-performing Gulf nation. Among the six GCC countries, only Bahrain and Qatar returned with medals, marking a notable achievement for the region.

However, the rest of the GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Oman – failed to win any medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Bahrain secured an impressive 33rd place in the overall medal tally, thanks to its athletes who clinched two gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. This four-medal haul is the highest in Bahrain’s Olympic history.

Qatar finished 81st in the medal standings, with a single bronze medal. Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar stands out as the only athlete from the GCC to have won an Olympic medal on four different occasions.

The Paris 2024 Olympics saw a total of 91 nations winning medals, out of 206 participating nations.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Oman were unable to add to their medal totals this year. Although they came close in several events, they ultimately fell short of securing any medals.

A notable aspect of Bahrain’s success is the dominance of its female athletes, who have now won six of the nation’s eight medals in its Olympic history. In Paris 2024, Bahrain achieved another milestone as their male athletes won both a gold and a silver medal for the first time in the nation’s Olympic history.

The overall medal tally for the Gulf nations in the Paris 2024 Olympics stands at five: two golds, one silver, and two bronze medals.

This marks a slight decline compared to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where GCC nations collectively won six medals. In Tokyo, Qatar had a standout performance with two golds and one bronze, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia won a silver each, and Kuwait secured a bronze.

Historically, only five of the six GCC nations have won Olympic medals. The total medal count for GCC nations in Olympic history is as follows:

Bahrain: 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze (Total: 8)

Qatar: 2 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze (Total: 9)

UAE: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze (Total: 2)

Saudi Arabia: 0 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze (Total: 4)

Kuwait: 0 gold, 0 silver, 3 bronze (Total: 3)

The overall tally for the Gulf countries now stands at 26 medals, comprising 7 gold, 7 silver, and 12 bronze.