Olympic Games
The Olympic Games, organised once every four years under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is the largest sporting celebration gathering the greatest number of athletes and people from over 200 nations in one place.
The modern Olympic Games had its roots in the Olympian Games held over 2,300 years ago in the Olympia area in Greece. Due to outbreaks of war in the region, the ancient Olympic Games ended in 393 AD.
Then, over 1,500 years later, in 1896, following the proposal from a French educator, Baron Pierre de Coubertin to the international congress in Paris in 1894, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens, Greece.
The modern Olympic Games now comprise of:
- The Summer Olympic Games
- The Winter Olympic Games
- The Youth Summer Olympic Games
- The Youth Winter Olympic Games
Until 1992, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year but since 1994, have alternated between a summer and winter edition every two years within the four-year period of each Olympiad.
For a beginner’s guide to the Olympic Games, click here
The first edition of the modern Olympic Games held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was staged in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Since then, the Games which is also known as the Games of the Olympiad is held once every four years except in 1916, 1940 and 1944 where the Games were cancelled due to the First and Second World Wars respectively.
Meanwhile, the XXXII Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 first scheduled for 24 July – 9 August 2020 was postponed to 23 July – 8 August 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prior to the formation of the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council in 1953 and its subsequent recognition by the IOC in 1954, some Malayans may have participated in the Olympic Games, representing their countries of origin, such as China and India. After receiving the recognition of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1954, the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council, as it was then known, sent a contingent of 33 athletes from 6 sports to participate in the Olympic Games in 1956 in Melbourne.
Since then, the Olympic Council of Malaysia, as it is known since 1964, has been participating in all the Olympic Games, except the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Our athletes have won a total of eleven (11) Olympic medals, with badminton being the biggest contributor (8), followed by diving (2) and cycling (1). The eleven medals consist of 7 silver medals and 4 bronze medals.
The first Olympic medal for Malaysia was won a bronze medal in Badminton, in the Men’s Doubles event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, through brothers Razif and Jalani Sidek.
For a summary of medals won by Malaysian, click here.
The most successful Malaysian Olympian by medals won is Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei (Badminton) with 3 silver medals. With appearances at the five (5) Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), Leong Mun Yee (Diving) holds the record for the greatest number of appearances at Olympic Games.
For a summary of Malaysians who have participated in the Summer Olympic Games, click here
Click on the individual Games logo to discover more about Malaysia’s participation at the Summer Olympic Games.
The first edition of the Winter Olympic Games was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Since 1994, the Olympic Games have alternated between a summer and winter edition every two years within the four-year period of each Olympiad.
Malaysia first competed at the Winter Olympic Games in the 2018 edition in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Malaysian contingent in 2018 consisted of two athletes (1 Alpine skier and 1 figure skater).
Click on the individual Games logo to discover more about Malaysia’s participation at the Winter Olympic Games.
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event organised every four (4) years by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for athletes aged between 14 to 18 years old.
The YOG comprise of:
- The Summer Youth Olympic Games;
- The Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The first edition of the Youth Summer Olympic Games was held in Singapore from 14-26 August 2010. The 2022 edition of the Youth Summer Olympic Games which was due in Dakar, Senegal, had to be postponed to year 2026 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Click on the individual Games logo to discover more about Malaysia’s participation at the Summer Youth Olympic Games.
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event organised every four (4) years by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for athletes aged between 14 to 18 years old.
The YOG comprise of:
- The Summer Youth Olympic Games;
- The Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The first winter edition was held in Innsbruck, Austria from 13 – 22 January 2012. Malaysia made its maiden appearance at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games. Figure skater Chew Kai Xiang was the sole Malaysian representative in Lillehammer, Norway. Four years later in Lausanne, Switzerland, Malaysia was represented by Sean Yeo and Dione Tan – both competing short track speed skating.
Click on the individual Games logo to discover more about Malaysia’s participation at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Dato’ Sieh Kok Chi was born on the 8th of November 1938. After his retirement in 1991, as an Engineer in the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia, Dato’ Sieh chose to continue his involvement, full time, in the field of sports, where his life-long passion was, especially in the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
Born on 21st March 1949, Y.A.M Tunku Tan Sri Imran is the second son of the late Tuanku Jaafar, an elected monarch of the Negeri Sembilan. Tunku Imran was educated in the UK at the King’s School, Canterbury and studied law at Nottingham University before being called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn, London in 1971 and qualifying as a Barrister at Law.