First Olympic Champions From Each Country

On the afternoon of April 6, 1896, the opening ceremony of the very first modern Olympic Games took place at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece

 

The Panathenaic Stadium during the 1896 Athens Olympics or the Games of the I Olympiad

 

James Brendan Connolly (a Harvard University student) from the USA won the men's triple jump in the 1896 Olympics becoming the first modern Olympics champion and first gold medallist of any country.

 

Discus thrower Halina Konopacka from Poland is the very first woman in Olympic history to give a first gold medal to her country by winning in the 1928 Amsterdam Games.

 

Tennis player Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain is the first woman Olympic gold medallist when she won the women's singles in the 1900 Paris Olympics.

 

Weightlifting at the 1896 Olympics

 

Swimming at the 1896 Olympics. All swimming events took place at the Piraeus coast off the Bay of Zea on April 11, 1896. There is a total of 13 swimming participants all are male as was true of all Olympic events that year. Women did not swim in the Olympics until 1912. The organizers refused to spend money to build a swimming stadium yet around 20,000 spectators showed up to witness the swimming competition among them is King George I of Greece. There were no diving blocks in the first Olympics. The competitors were taken into the bay by boat to leap into the frigid waters. The Bay of Zea was extremely cold at the time affecting the performance of the swimmers. It was noted that the water temperature was between 53 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit while the air temperature was only 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

The British 4x100 relay team which competed at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics were among the first women to compete in swimming.

 

The participating countries at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Winning an Olympic medal is already a great honor and glory to a nation but winning the Olympic gold is monumentally celebrated in the entire nation which accomplished that feat with their Olympic champions. By achieving the top podium in the sporting world's highest competition it is a bragging right for every nation to have an Olympic champion and put their beloved nation on the map of Olympic champion countries. 

Over 100 countries have won at least a gold medal at the Olympics. This is the list of first gold medal winners (male or female, Summer or Winter) from each country. For some countries, there were numerous gold medalists at the same Olympiad, and in these cases, we have looked closely at the events and dates and determined which of the athletes won their medal first and brought the first Olympic glory to their nation.

There are special delegations that also won gold medals at these games that are also worth mentioning here are included below.

                             

Country/territory	Year	Notes
Algeria	1992	Hassiba Boulmerka won gold in the women's 1,500 meters run.
Argentina	1924	The Argentinian team won the men's polo tournament
Armenia	1996	Armen Nazaryan won the men's flyweight (52 kg.) Greco-Roman wrestling.

Australia	1896	Athletics men's 1500-meter run won by Edwin Harold Flack
Austria	1896	Swimming men's 500 freestyle won by Paul Neumann
Azerbaijan	2000	Shooting women's skeet Zemfira Meftəkhətddinova

Bahamas	1964	Sailing two-person keelboat, Durward Knowles and Cecil Cooke
Bahrain	2012	Athletics women's 1500 meter run won by Maryam Yusuf Jamal
Belarus	1996	Rowing women's single sculls won by Ekaterina Karsten

Belgium	1900	Equestrian individual jumping won by Aimé Haegeman
Bermuda	2021	Triathlete Flora Duffy won the women's triathlon at Tokyo 2020
Brazil	1920	Shooting men's 30-meter rapid-fire pistol won by Guilherme Paraense

Bulgaria	1956	Wrestling men's freestyle middleweight won by Nikola Stanchev
Burundi	1996	Athletics men's 5000 meters won by Vénuste Niyongabo

Cameroon	2000	Football, men's tournament won by Cameroon men's team
Canada	1900	Athletics men's 2500 m steeplechase won by George Washington Orton
Chile	2004	Tennis men's doubles won by Fernando González and Nicolás Massú

China	1984	Shooting men's 50-meter pistol won by Xu Haifeng
Chinese Taipei	2004	Taekwondo women's (49 kg.) flyweight won by Chen Shih-Hsin and men's (58 kg.) flyweight won by Chu Mu-Yen
Colombia	2000	The weightlifting women's (75 kg.) heavyweight category was won by María Isabel Urrutia.

Costa Rica	1996	Swimming women's 200 m. freestyle won by Claudia Poll
Croatia	1996	Handball Croatia men's national team won the tournament
Cuba	1900	Fencing Ramón Fonst won the men's individual épée

Czech Republic	1996	Canoeing women's slalom singles kayak won by Štěpánka Hilgertová
Czechoslovakia	1924	Gymnastics men's rope climbing won by Bedřich Šupčík
Denmark	1896	Weightlifting men's two-hand lift won by Viggo Jensen

Dominican Republic	2004	Athletics men's 400 m hurdles won by Félix Sánchez
East Germany	1968	Athletics men's 50-kilometer walk won by Christoph Höhne
Ecuador	1996	Athletics men's 20-kilometer walk won by Jefferson Pérez

Egypt	1928	Weightlifting men's light heavyweight (-82.5 kg.) won by El-Sayed Nosseir
Estonia	1920	Weightlifting men's lightweight (67.5 kg.) won by Alfred Neuland
Ethiopia	1960	Athletics men's marathon won by Abebe Bikila

 

Fiji	2016	Rugby Sevens won by Fiji men's national rugby sevens team
Finland	1908	Wrestling men's Greco-Roman light-heavyweight won by Verner Weckman
France	1896	Fencing, men's individual foil won by Eugène Henry Gravelotte

 

Georgia	2004	Judo, men's middleweight (90 kg.) won by Zurab Zviadauri
Germany	1896	The gymnastics men's vault was won by Carl Schuhmann. Several  German gymnasts competed on April 9th, 1896 winning gold. Individual golds were won by Hermann Weingärtner, Carl Schuhmann, and Alfred Flatow.
Great Britain	1896	Weightlifting men's one-hand lift won by Launceston Elliot

 

Greece	1896	Fencing men's individual master's foil won by Leonidas Pyrgos
Grenada	2012	Athletics men's 400 meters won by Kirani James
Hong Kong	1996	Sailing women's mistral won by Lee Lai Shan

 

Hungary	1896	Swimming men's 100-meter freestyle won by Alfred Hajos
India	1928	Field Hockey won by India men's national field hockey team(British India Team)
Indonesia	1992	Badminton women's singles won by Susi Susanti

 

Iran	1956	Wrestling men's freestyle lightweight won by Emam Ali Habibi. Gholamreza Takhti also won gold in men's freestyle light heavyweight on the same evening
Ireland	1928	Athletics men's hammer throw won by Pat O'Callaghan
Israel	2004	Sailing men's mistral one design won by Gal Fridman

Italy	1900	Equestrian open  jumping high jump won by Gian Giorgio Trissino
Ivory Coast	2016	Taekwondo, men's (80 kg.) welterweight won by Cheick Sallah Cissé
Jamaica	1948	Athletics men's 400-meter run won by Arthur Wint

Japan	1928	Athletics men's triple jump won by Mikio Oda
Jordan	2016	Taekwondo men's (68 kg) featherweight won by Ahmad Abu-Ghaush
Kazakhstan	1994, 1996	Cross-country skiing. Kazakhstan's first Olympic champion came from the winter sport of cross-country skiing courtesy of Vladimir Smirnov in the men's 50 km. (classical)  Kazakhstan's first Summer Olympic gold medal came two years later from wrestling courtesy of Yuriy Melnichenko in the men's Greco-Roman (57 kg) bantamweight division

Kenya	1968	Athletics. men's 10,000-meter run won by Naftali Temu
Kosovo	2016	Judo. women's 52 kg won by Majlinda Kelmendi
Kuwait	2016	Shooting. men's double trap won Fehaid Al-Deehani. Kuwait shooter  Fehaid Al-Deehani won a gold medal in the men's Double Trap, though he competed as Independent Olympic Athletes under the Olympic flag due to  Kuwait being suspended.

Latvia	2000	Gymnastics men's floor exercise won by Igors Vihrovs
Liechtenstein	1980	Alpine skiing. women's giant slalom won by Hanni Wenzel The tiny nation of Liechtenstein never won a Summer Olympic medal but they already have a total of 10 medals all from alpine skiing  with their first medal which is a bronze they won in the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria
Lithuania	1992	Athletics. men's discus throw won by Romas Obartas

Luxembourg	1952	Athletics. The men's 1500-meter run was won by Josy Barthel. In 1900, an athlete from Luxembourg Michel Théato won the gold in the marathon but the win has been credited to France. In 1924 Jean Jacoby won gold in the painting Olympic art competition. In 1952, Josy Barthel won Luxembourg's first-ever official Olympic gold medal in a sporting event when he narrowly won the men's 1500 meters.
Mexico	1948	Equestrian. The individual jumping was won by Humberto Mariles and by the team jumping event.  Mexico's first-ever gold came in 1948 when Humberto Mariles (Equestrian) and the equestrian team of Humberto Mariles, Rubén Uriza, and Alberto Valdés both won gold medals in their events in London, England.
Mongolia	2008	Judo. Men's (100 kg.) Half-Heavyweight was won by Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar

Morocco	1984	Athletics. The women's 400-meter hurdle was won by Nawal El Moutawakel
Mozambique	2000	Athletics. The women's 800-meter run was won by Maria Mutola
Netherlands	1900, 1920	Rowing. Men's Coxed Pairs won by François Brandt and Roelof Klein.  Sailing. 6.5 meter won by Joop Carp, Berend Carp and Piet Wernink  In the 1900 Paris Olympics, a coxed pair mixed team of mostly Dutchmen won the gold medal including Francois Brandt and Roelof Klein. Dutch Hermanus Brockmann is the coxswain for the team in the semifinals but not in the finals in which an unknown French boy participated as the coxswain. Brockmann is considered a gold medalist by the IOC and is listed in that organization's medal database. Despite information from some sources (DutchNews), the IOC continues to attribute this medal to Mixed Team, as it must be shown in the  IOC database. Netherlands' first official Olympic gold medal came twenty years later in  Antwerp when the 6.5-meter Dutch sailing team consisting of Joop Carp, Berend Carp, and Piet Wernink won first place.

New Zealand	1928	Boxing. The men's welterweight division was won by Ted Morgan  New Zealander Victor Lindberg was part of the Osborne Swimming Club representing Great Britain which won gold in water polo in 1900. Competing for Australasia, New Zealander Malcolm Champion was part of the gold medal-winning team swimming 4 x 200 meters freestyle relay.  Their first ever Olympic gold as an independent country was in 1928 when boxer Ted Morgan took the top spot in the men's welterweight division.
Nigeria	1996	Athletics. Women's long jump won by Chioma Ajunwa
North Korea	1972	Shooting. Mixed open 50-meter rifle (small-bore rifle) prone won by Ri Ho-jun

Norway	1908	Shooting. Men's 300-meter free rifle three positions won by Norway's men's national shooting team
Pakistan	1960	Field Hockey. The men's event was won by Pakistan national field hockey team
Panama	2008	Athletics. Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda won Panama's first and only gold medal at the Olympics in the athletics men's long jump event.

Peru	1948	Shooting. The men's 50-meter pistol event was won by Edwin Vásquez
Philippines	2021	Weightlifting. The women's 55 kg (featherweight) was won by Hidilyn Diaz held on July 26, 2021, a delayed date due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Poland	1928	Athletics. The women's discus throw was won by Halina Konopacka.

Puerto Rico	2016	Tennis. The women's singles were won by Monica Puig
Qatar	2021	Weightlifting. The men's 96 kgs. category was won by Meso Hassouna held in 2021 delayed date due to the global Covid-19 pandemic but it is still officially called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Romania	1952	Shooting. Men's 50-meter rifle (small bore) prone was won by Iosif Sîrbu

Russia	1994, 1996	Speed skating. Russia's first Olympic champion was won by Aleksandr Golubev in Men's 500 m speedskate in the 1994 Winter Olympics. Fencing and shooting. Russia's first Summer Olympic gold came from the Men's saber won by Stanislav Pozdnyakov and women's 10-meter air pistol won by Olga Klochneva
Russian Empire	1908	Figure Skating. The men's special figures won by Nikolai Panin
Soviet Union	1952	Athletics. Women's discus throw was won by Nina Ponomaryova

Serbia	2012	Taekwondo. Women's (+67 kg.) heavyweight won by Milica Mandić
Serbia & Montenegro	1996	Shooting. Women's 50-meter rifle (small bore) three positions won by Aleksandra Ivošev
Singapore	2016	Swimming. Men's 100-meter butterfly was won by Joseph Schooling Singapore's first Olympic gold medal was won in 2016 by swimmer Joseph Schooling in the men's 100-meter butterfly, beating a trio of tied second-place getters which included Michael Phelps.

Slovakia	1996	Canoeing. Men's C-1 slalom event won by Michal Martikán
Slovenia	2000	Shooting. Men's 50 meters (small bore) rifle 3 positions won by Rajmond Debevec Rowing. Men's double sculls won by the pair of Iztok Čop and Luka Špik Many Slovenians won gold while representing Yugoslavia. Competing as an independent nation, the first gold medal was won by Rajmond Debevec in the 50m  3 position Small-Bore Rifle event in 2000. The pair Luka Špik and Iztok Čop also won gold on the same day in the men's double sculls rowing event.
South Africa	1908	Athletics. Men's 100-meter run won by Reggie Walker

South Korea	1976	Wrestling. Men's freestyle (62 kg.) featherweight division was won by Yang Jung-mo
Spain	1900	Basque Pelota. Men's two-man team won by José de Amézola and Francisco Villota
Suriname	1988	Swimming. Men's 100-meter butterfly won by Anthony Nesty

Sweden	1908	Shooting. Men's single-shot running deer was won by Oscar Swahn In 1900, a combined Sweden/Denmark mixed team in the tug of war made up of three competitors from each country defeated the French team to win the title. It was Sweden's first unofficial Olympic gold medal. In the London Olympic Games of 1908, Oscar Swahn won Sweden's first official Olympic gold medal, winning in single-shot running deer shooting. At 64 years and 258 days of age, he became the oldest gold medallist ever, a record he still holds.
Switzerland	1896	Gymnastics. Men's pommel horse was won by Louis Zutter
Syria	1996	Athletics. The women's heptathlon was won by Ghada Shouaa

Tajikistan	2016	Athletics. Men's hammer throw won by Dilshod Nazarov                                                                     In 1972, Yury Lobanov became the first athlete from Tajikistan to win an Olympic gold medal, winning gold in the 1000 m sprint canoe event with Lithuanian Vladas Česiūnas, though they were competing for the Soviet Union. The nation of Tajikistan officially won an Olympic gold medal for the first time when Dilshod Nazarov won the men's hammer throw at the 2016 Rio Games.
Thailand	1996	Boxing. Men's Featherweight was won by Somluck Kamsing.
Trinidad & Tobago	1976	Athletics. Men's 100 meter-run was won by Hasely Crawford

Tunisia	1968	Athletics. Men's 5000 meters was won by Mohammed Gammoudi
Turkey	1936	Wrestling. The men's Greco-Roman featherweight category was won by Yaşar Erkan
Uganda	1972	Athletics. Men's 400-meter hurdles was won by John Akii-Bua

Ukraine	1996	Wrestling. Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight (90 kg.) category was won by Vyacheslav Oleynyk
UAE	2004	Shooting. Men's double trap was won by Ahmed Al-Maktoum
USA	1896	Athletics. The men's triple jump was won by James Brendan Connolly. The first Olympic champion of the modern games, James Brendan Connolly is the first Olympic gold medallist for any country

Uruguay	1924	Football. Men's football was won by the Uruguayan men's national football team.
Uzbekistan	2000	Boxing. The men's light welterweight was won by Mahammatkodir Abdullaev The nation's first gold medal was earned by Mahammatkodir Abdoollayev who went undefeated in the men's lightweight category in boxing at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games. Uzbek athletes may have won medals previously when competing as part of the Soviet Union from 1952 to 1988.
Venezuela	1968	Boxing. Men's light flyweight was won by Francisco Rodríguez

Vietnam	2016	Shooting. Men's 10-meter air pistol was won by Hoàng Xuân Vinh
West Germany	1968	Athletics. The women's pentathlon event was won by Ingrid Becker
Yugoslavia	1924	Gymnastics. Men's horizontal bar was won by Leon Štukelj

Zimbabwe            1980                  Field Hockey. The women's event was won by Zimbabwe's national 

                                                       field hockey team. 

Special delegations and not an actual nation

Australasia                              1908            Rugby Union. Australian national rugby union team won the men's rugby
                                                                   union tournament

IOA                                         2016           Shooting. Men's double trap was won by Fehaid Al-Deehani, a Kuwaiti

Mixed Teams                          1896           Tennis. Men's doubles won by John Boland (GBR) and Fritz Traun (GER)

OAR                                       2018            Figure skating. Ladies singles was won by Alina Zagitova

Unified Team                          1992           Cross-country skiing. Women's 15 km. classical won by Lyubov Yegorova

Acronyms

IOA  - Independent Olympic Athletes

OAR - Olympic Athletes from Russia 

                                                                            

Sources:

Top End Sports - https://www.topendsports.com/

Endless Pools - https://www.endlesspools.com/blog/post/this-day-in-swimming-the-1st-modern-olympics-1896

Greek Reporter - https://greekreporter.com/2021/04/08/the-first-modern-olympics-are-held-in-greece-in-april-1896/