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 |
union tournament
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/
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