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Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee

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Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee
Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee logo
Country/Region Marshall Islands
CodeMHL
Createdc. 1991
Recognized2006
Continental
Association		ONOC
PresidentAnthony Muller
Secretary GeneralAmy Sasser

The Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee (MINOC) is the National Olympic Committee representing the Marshall Islands. It was founded c. 1991 and became a full member of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement on February 9, 2006. The MINOC initially applied for recognition in 1991 but were rejected in 1993 after a series of assessments were conducted and it was deemed not ready for membership. At their recognition, they had the national sporting bodies of athletics, basketball, softball, swimming, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling recognized by their respective international governing bodies. The current president has been Anthony Muller since 2022. The MINOC is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code published by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

History

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The Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee (MINOC) was founded c. 1991[a] and applied for International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition the same year. Paul Wallwork, then-IOC member of Samoa, took up their case in 1993 for the IOC to conduct a series of assessments on the nation to determine their eligibility. They were initially rejected the same year after the IOC determined they were ineligible. The IOC’s response was that all citizens of the Marshall Islands hold dual citizenship with the United States, meaning the United States could hypothetically send a second team to the Olympic Games. Olympedia later opined that this was an unusual response at the time, as other competing National Olympic Committees (NOCs) such as American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico, where all citizens hold United States nationality,[b] were nonetheless recognized by the IOC as separate entities.[1][2]

The MINOC was formally recognized by the Oceania National Olympic Committees in 2005.[1] The IOC executive board proposed recognition of the MINOC on January 30, 2006, where their case was examined for a few days before formal approval.[3] On February 9, 2006, The MINOC became the 203rd IOC member at the 118th IOC session in Turin, Italy, by acclamation.[4] They were the 16th and second-to-last Oceanian nation to be recognized by the IOC, gaining recognition before Tuvalu.[3] Before being recognised by the IOC, the MINOC already had the affiliations of the international governing bodies of athletics, basketball, softball,[c] swimming, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.[4] After recognition, they received financial assistance and scholarships from the IOC amounting to around $100,000 before the 2008 Summer Games, which fundamentally amounts to the MINOC's entire budget.[5]

Facilities and management

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In 2008, MINOC secretary general Terry Sasser said that the nation has running tracks made of grass and four to five gyms with indoor basketball courts.[5] The Majuro Track and Field Stadium, which the MINOC is a tenant of, is used for track and field and soccer. The stadium started construction in 2019 and was opened in 2024.[6][7]

The first president of the MINOC was Kenneth Kramer, who was elected in 2009 and served until 2022 before former MINOC treasurer Anthony Muller took over and still holds the position as of 2025.[8][9] Terry Sasser worked as the secretary general until Amy Sasser was elected in 2022.[10] The MINOC is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code published by the World Anti-Doping Agency.[11]

Events

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Olympic Games

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Main article: Marshall Islands at the Olympics
Giordan Harris during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics
Giordan Harris competed in swimming for the nation at two Olympic Games.[12]

The Marshall Islands participates in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics and have not competed at the Winter Olympics. The nation entered the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China. The delegation featured five athletes who lived in different nations, competing across athletics, swimming, and taekwondo. All athletes failed to progress further from their first rounds.[5] Four years later, at the 2012 Summer Games, four athletes were sent, two each in athletics and swimming. All athletes also failed to progress further from their first rounds.[13]

The nation made their debut in weightlifting at the next games, where the nation received their then-highest placement by Mattie Sasser, who placed 11th in the women's 58 kg event with a total of 199 kilograms.[14] They also sent athletes in swimming and athletics but they also failed to progress further from their first rounds.[15] The nation had their smallest delegation so far at the 2020 Summer Games where they sent two swimmers who also failed to progress further from their first rounds.[16][17] Their highest placement came at the 2024 Summer Games, where Sasser placed tenth in the women's 59 kg event with a total of 209 kilograms.[18] Continuing, the athletics and swimming competitors for the nation at the games also failed to progress further.[19][20][21]

The nation also supplied delegations for the Youth Olympic Games in the Summer editions. They made their debut at the inaugural games in 2010 and have competed ever since.[2] The MINOC has supplied athletes in athletics, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, with their best placements coming from wrestlers Ilania Keju and Alexander Adiniwin placing sixth at the 2014 and 2018 editions respectively.[22][23]

Affiliated sports

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Sports governing bodies affiliated to the Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee[4][24]
Sport Body Federation Refs
Athletics Marshall Islands Athletics Federation WA [25]
Baseball/Softball Marshall Islands Baseball Softball Federation WBSC [26]
Basketball Marshall Islands Basketball Federation FIBA [27]
Swimming Marshall Islands Swimming Federation AQUA [28]
Table tennis Marshall Islands Table Tennis Association ITTF [29]
Taekwondo Marshall Islands Taekwondo Federation WT [24]
Tennis Marshall Islands Tennis Association ITF [30]
Volleyball Marshall Islands Volleyball Federation FIVB [31]
Weightlifting Marshall Islands Weightlifting Federation IWF [32]
Wrestling Marshall Islands Wrestling Federation UWW [33]

Notes

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  1. ^ No available sources describe the MINOC's founding date.
  2. ^ Native-born residents of American Samoa are not United States citizens unless they have a citizen parent. They instead are United States nationals, who hold many but not all of the rights of citizenship. By contrast, native-born residents of Guam and Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth. See the dedicated pages on citizenship and nationality in American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
  3. ^ The then-existing governing body for softball, the International Softball Federation, would merge with the governing body for baseball in 2013 to establish the current World Baseball Softball Confederation.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee (MINOC)". Oceania National Olympic Committees. Archived from the original on March 8, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Marshall Islands Overview". Olympedia. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Marshall Islands Ready to Join Olympics". SFGate. Associated Press. February 5, 2006. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Marshall Islands 203rd National Olympic Committee". International Olympic Committee. February 9, 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Longman, Jeré (August 5, 2008). "For the Marshall Islands, a Debut on a World Stage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  6. ^ "Green light for Micro Games facility". The Marshall Islands Journal. May 2, 2019. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  7. ^ Ewart, Richard (February 27, 2020). "Small beginnings as Marshall Islands sets out to join the world soccer family". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  8. ^ "Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee". Olympedia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  9. ^ Muller, Anthony (October 25, 2021). "Micro Games Postponement" (PDF). Guam Aquatics. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  10. ^ "NOCs Directory Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee". Association of National Olympic Committees. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  11. ^ "Code Signatories". World Anti-Doping Agency. 2016. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "Giordan Harris". World Aquatics. Archived from the original on April 12, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  13. ^ "Marshall Islands at the 2012 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  14. ^ "Mattie: Ranked #11 globally". The Marshall Islands Journal. August 11, 2016. Archived from the original on October 5, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  15. ^ "Marshall Islands at the 2016 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  16. ^ "Swimming Women's 100m Freestyle Results Summary" (PDF). Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  17. ^ "Swimming Men's 50m Freestyle Results Summary" (PDF). Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  18. ^ Rovoi, Christine (August 11, 2024). "Sāmoan lifter will have the last dance for the Pacific". Pacific Media Network. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  19. ^ "Men's 100m Preliminary Round - Heat 1/6" (PDF). Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. August 2, 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  20. ^ "Swimming Men's 50m Freestyle Summary" (PDF). Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. August 2, 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 17, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  21. ^ "Swimming Women's 50m Freestyle Summary" (PDF). Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. August 4, 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  22. ^ "Marshall Islands at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  23. ^ "Marshall Islands at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Marshall Islands Taekwondo Federation WT License Requirements" (PDF). World Taekwondo. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  25. ^ "Marshall Islands". Oceania Athletics Association. May 13, 2016. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  26. ^ "Marshall Islands Baseball Softball Federation". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  27. ^ "Rep. of the Marshall Islands Basketball Federation Inc". FIBA. January 31, 2025. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025.
  28. ^ "Marshall Islands Swimming Federation". World Aquatics. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  29. ^ "Marshall Islands Table Tennis Federation". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  30. ^ "Marshall Islands Tennis Association". Oceania Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  31. ^ "National Federations". Fédération Internationale de Volleyball. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  32. ^ "IWF Member Federations". International Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  33. ^ "Marshall Islands Wrestling Federation". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
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