The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games is two days away.
As per Idman.biz, on the eve of the most prestigious multi-sport event of the quadrennial, fans are drowning in questions and are eagerly waiting for their answers.
The first question is about Azerbaijan’s first medal. The first medal chances will be available the day after the opening ceremony. If we look at the history of the Olympics, we can see when our medal account was opened.
The Late Debut
Namig Abdullayev's silver, Azerbaijan’s first Olympic medal, is the latest debut. The freestyle wrestler raised the flag of Azerbaijan 13 days after the opening ceremony.
Judoka's Record: Hidayat's Scenario
The earliest Olympic medals were won on the third day of the competition. This happened twice. Both successes were written at the expense of judokas. In Beijing 2008, Elnur Mammadli won the gold medal by beating his opponents consecutively on the third day after the opening. 8 years later, Rustam Orujov won the silver on the 3rd day. Both of our judokas performed at 73 kg weight. It has become a tradition that judo competitions start the day after the opening, and each day the winners of one male and one female category are announced. Men's weight of 73 kg is the third on this list. On the third day of Paris 2024, our hope for the main medal and even the championship, Hidayat Heydarov, will go to the tatami. If there is no medalist until then, our judoka can repeat the record.
Canceled Record
In fact, the earliest Olympic medal was won on the second day of competition. However, weightlifter Valentin Hristov, the debut maker in London 2012, was later found guilty of doping, so the results were canceled. Looking at that Olympics now, the first medal was won by Greco-Roman wrestler Rovshan Bayramov on the 9th day.
First Week's Debuts
The first medals of the other three Olympics were won at the end of the first week of competition. Shot putter Irada Ashumova won bronze in Athens 2004 on the 5th day of competition. We are talking about the fifth day after the opening. Four years before that, Zemfira Meftahatdinova, who brought the first gold to Azerbaijan, sang our national anthem on the sixth day of Sydney 2000 and was the debut maker on the "Green Continent". The first success at our last Summer Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020, came from Irina Kindzerska. The heavyweight judoka stood out on the 7th day of competition in Japan.
Opening ceremonies of the Olympics attended by Azerbaijan:
Atlanta 1996: July 19
Sydney 2000: September 15
Athens 2004: August 13
Beijing 2008: August 8
London 2012: July 27
Rio 2016: August 5
Tokyo 2020: July 23 ( Postponed to 2021)
Paris 2024: 26 July
First medals of Azerbaijan:
Atlanta 1996: August 1
Sydney 2000: September 21
Athens 2004: August 18
Beijing 2008: August 11
London 2012: August 5
Rio 2016: August 8
Tokyo 2020: July 30 (Postponed to 2021)
Vugar Kheyrullayev
Idman.biz
