AZERBAIJANI NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
The National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan was established in 1992 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1993.
Azerbaijani Olympic movement can be conditionally divided into three periods:
1) Participation in the Olympic Games as part of the USSR national team (1952-1992);
2) Participation in the Olympic Games as part of the national team of the Commonwealth of Independent States under the flag of the International Olympic Committee (1992);
3) Azerbaijan joined the Olympic movement as an independent state (after 1992).
In 1996, Azerbaijan participated in the Olympic Games for the first time as an independent state. Azerbaijan was represented in Atlanta by 23 athletes and won one silver medal.
During the first five years of the activity of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan, in general, it was not established at the proper level and could not be considered satisfactory. It was necessary to make a radical turn. The next General Assembly of the National Olympic Committee held on July 31, 1997, determined the new composition of the committee. Ilham Aliyev was elected President of the National Olympic Committee. The directions of the committee's activities were determined.
NOC President Ilham Aliyev was able to turn the activities of the committee in a positive direction, give impetus to the rapid development of the Olympic Movement in our country and ensure its active participation in the International Olympic Games Movement. The NOC of Azerbaijan has achieved successful results in a short period of time by working purposefully and consistently on the development of the Olympic Movement and sports in our country. In order to prepare our athletes for the XXVII Summer Olympic Games in Sydney at a high level and ensure their participation in official international competitions, the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated January 20, 1998, opened wide opportunities for the NOC to work more purposefully. As a result of timely and state-level preparations for the Games, 31 Azerbaijani athletes participated in the XXVII Summer Olympic Games in 10 types of sport (2000).
Azerbaijani athletes won 2 gold and 1 bronze medal at the XXVII Summer Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia. Azerbaijan's 34th and 23rd place among European countries was a great victory for our athletes at The Sydney Olympic Games attended by 199 countries.
The order "on preparation for the XXVIII Summer Olympic Games" signed by the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev laid the foundation for the organization and provision of the Azerbaijani athletes at a higher level and in an organized form for the XXVIII Summer Olympic Games (05.06.2003). 38 out of 130 athletes who started preparing for the XXVIII Summer Olympic Games in Athens were able to participate in the Games. Our republic was represented at the XXVIII Summer Olympic Games with 38 sportsmen in 12 types of sports. Compared to the XXVII Sydney Olympic Games, our country participated in competitions with 3 new types of sports — rhythmic gymnastics, taekwondo, fencing, and more.
At the XXVIII Summer Olympic Games, the National Olympic team of Azerbaijan won 1 gold and 4 bronze medals and took 37th place among 202 participating states for the number of medals and 50th place for the quality.
At the XXIX Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing, the National Olympic team of Azerbaijan was represented by 44 athletes in various sports. Our representatives differed from other Olympic Games in terms of the number of athletes and medals. Our team won medals at the Olympic Games for the first time in all three games. It is interesting that for the first time our athletes tested their strength in the Olympic equestrian competitions and group exercises in rhythmic gymnastics. In addition, Beijing-2008 went down in history as the first Olympics in which our female wrestlers will compete. At the XXIX Summer Olympic Games, the Azerbaijani team took 27th place among 204 countries with 7 medals (1 Gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze) for the number of medals, and 39th for the quality.
53 members of the National Olympic team of Azerbaijan were represented in 16 types of sports at the XXX Summer Olympic Games held in London. For the first time, our athletes tested their strength in cycling, rowing, women's boxing, gymnastics. 10,957 athletes from 204 countries participated in the XXX Summer Olympic Games. The Azerbaijani Olympic team ranked 30th with 2 gold, 2 silver, and 6 bronze medals. At the XXXI Summer Olympic Games, 56 members of the national Olympic team of Azerbaijan were represented by 57 licenses in 17 types of sports. For the first time, our athletes tested their strength in triathlon, archery, canoe slalom, track cycling.
At the XXXI Summer Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the Azerbaijani Olympic team ranked 15th among 206 countries in total with 1 gold, 7 silver, and 10 bronze medals, and 39th for the quality.
The first European Games were held in Azerbaijan in 2015. 10,000 athletes from 50 countries competed in the competitions. 11 sports facilities of Baku and 1 Mingachevir were used in the competitions. 30 types of sports were included in the calendar of the 2015 European games. 24 of them are Olympic and 6 are non-Olympic sports. Athletes competed in 253 sets of medals. Participating in the competitions with 289 athletes, Azerbaijan won 21 gold, 15 silver, and 20 bronze medals, a total of 56 medals, and took second place in the competition table in terms of the number of medals and for quality.
In 2017, our country hosted another prestigious sporting event, the IV Islamic Solidarity Games.
During the 18th session of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in October 2012, the Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee nominated itself for the Islamic Solidarity Games. The 8th report-election General Assembly of IHIF held in Jeddah in 2013 approved the hosting of Azerbaijan.
On May 12-22, 2017, at the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, the Azerbaijani team was represented in 9 types of sports with 142 athletes. Azerbaijani athletes won 162 medals (75 gold, 50 silver, and 37 bronze) at the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games and took first place for medals.
The Republic of Azerbaijan, which has become a worthy member of the world community, is also known as an international sports country.
Azerbaijani sportsmen have made a worthy performance in the prestigious competitions held in our country and international arenas over the past years. This has led to a significant increase in Azerbaijan's international prestige. As a result, the world's leading sports organizations have recently entrusted Azerbaijan with a number of competitions.
As a result of the care and attention paid to the development of sports in Azerbaijan, Olympic complexes and numerous sports facilities have been built and put into operation in the capital Baku, as well as in different regions of the country. The development of sports in the Republic of Azerbaijan is expanding year by year. Caring for sports in our country is one of the priorities of state policy.
At present, more than 40 Olympic Sports Complexes operate in Azerbaijan. In addition, Baku Olympic Stadium with a capacity of 68,000 spectators, Baku Water Sports Palace, Baku European Games Park, Sports and Concert Complex named after Heydar Aliyev, Republican Olympic Center, Baku Shooting Center, Republican Velotrack, Republican Stadium named after T. Bahramov, Sports facilities such as Baku Crystal Hall, Velopark, Baku Tennis Academy, National Gymnastics Arena, Paralympic Sports Complex, Baku Sports Palace, Kura Olympic Training and Sports Center in Mingachevir create good opportunities for the development of sports in our country.