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.
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.
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 Year Of First Gold 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 Weighlifting women's (75 kg.) heavyweight category 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 Gymnastics men's vault 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 masters 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 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
in 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 Cross-country skiing. Kazakhstan's first Olympic champion came from the winter sports of cross-country skiing courtesy of Vladimir Smirnov in the men's 50 km. (classical)
1996 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
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. 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. Individual jumping was won by Humberto Mariles and the team jumping event
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. Women's 400-meter hurdle was won by Nawal El Moutawakel
Mozambique 2000 Athletics. Women's 800-meter run was won by Maria Mutola
Netherlands 1900 Rowing. Men's Coxed Pairs won by François Brandt and Roelof Klein
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' official first 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. Men's welterweight division was won by Ted Morgan
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 everOlympic 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
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 even was won by Edwin Vásquez
Philippines 2020 Weightlifting. The women's 55 kg (featherweight) was won by Hidilyn Diaz held
on July 26, 2021, 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 2020 Weightlifting. The men's 96 kg. 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 Speed skating. Russia's first Olympic champion was won by Aleksandr Golubev in Men's 500 m
1996 Fencing and shooting. Russia's first Summer Olympic gold came from Men's sabre won by
Stanislav Pozdnyakov and women's 10 meter air pistol won by Olga Klochneva
Russian Empire 1908 Figure Skating. 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
Many Slovenians won gold while representing Yugoslavia. Competing as an independent nation,
South Africa 1908 Athletics. Men's 100-meter run won by Reggie Walker
South Korea 1976 Wrestling. Men's freestyle (62 kg.) featherweight division 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. Women's heptathlon was won by Ghada Shouaa
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
