South Sudan created a record as the first African Country to win a match in the Olympics Men Basketball played on Sunday, 28th July,2024.
The African team also became the first Youngest Country to win in the Olympics Men Basketball. South Sudan competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Fourteen years ago, South Sudan did not even exist in the Olympics Basketball teams. Now it has written history at the Olympic Games. They took the lead with 19 point against Puerto Rico (South Sudan 90 vs Puerto Rico 79).
The South Sudan National Olympic Committee (NOC) was admitted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 128th IOC Session on 2 August 2015.
South Sudan was part of Sudan until 2011, when it gained independence after a referendum. Sudan has competed at the Olympics since 1960. Under IOC rules, the South Sudan NOC was not eligible for IOC membership. Until national sports federations had joined both the NOC and the corresponding international federation of five Olympic sports.
African first Olympics Men Basketball Winner
Guor Marial competed as an Independent Olympic Athlete at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 47th in the men’s marathon. Margret Rumat Rumar Hassan competed as an Independent Olympic Athlete at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. By 2015, Sudanese federations were recognized in athletics, basketball, association football, handball, judo, table tennis and taekwondo.
The South Sudan NOC was founded by representatives of these sports on 8th June 2015. After a recommendation by its executive board, the IOC admitted the NOC at its session in Kuala Lumpur by acclamation. With a group of players with NBA experience, natives who were relegated to training in other nations because of lack of facilities. They naturalized citizens such as leading scorer Carlik Jones, South Sudan has risen to more than just a neat story. One more win over its next two games against Team USA and Serbia, it has a chance to advance to the knockout round.