A Tiny Country that Sent Only Five Athletes to the Tokyo Olympics - And Won Three Medals [Now on Spotlight]

 

The tiny European country of San Marino has finally won its first Olympic medals, some 61 years after makings its debut at the 1960 Games.

The microstate is the world’s fifth-smallest nation, taking up just 61 square kilometres of the European continent and home to around 33,860 citizens.

But on Thursday, July 29, it became the smallest country in history to win an Olympic medal.

But, what is an even bigger achievement for San Marino is it winning three medals after only sending five athletes to the Tokyo 

Alessandra Perilli won bronze in women's trap shooting, having narrowly missing out in London 2012 when she was first to miss in a dramatic three-way tie shoot out during the same event.

Perilli also won a silver medal with Gian Marco Berti in the mixed trap shooting at the Alaska shooting range, losing to Spain, but beating the USA.

Wrestler Myles Amine then won the third medal for San Marino, claiming bronze in the men's freestyle wrestling event.

Perilli was extremely happy to get on the podium in Tokyo after her past disappointment

"This is a Games like no other. Despite the marathon run up of Covid hurdles to get there, our athletes are giving it their all." - the very happy Perilli told the media.