Background
Antigua and Barbuda participated in eight Olympic Games between its debut at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal and its 2008 appearance in Beijing, competing in every edition except for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The 2008 Summer Olympic delegation was smaller than those of 1980s and 1990s, when they were composed of thirteen or more athletes, but, with five participants, it was the same size that it had been at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. As of the conclusion of the Beijing Games, no Antiguan or Barbudan athlete has won a medal, although Brendan Christian progressed to semifinals and Daniel Bailey to quarterfinals of their respective events in 2008. At the 2008 games Kareem Valentine was the youngest athlete at fifteen years of age and Sonia Williams was the eldest at twenty-nine.
The Foreign Ministry of Antigua and Barbuda supported the Chinese handling of the civil unrest in Tibet, an issue marred in controversy due to self-immolations by Tibetans and numerous crackdowns on protesters, and expressed support for Chinese efforts to host the Olympics in Beijing despite the controversy. The flag-bearer for the Games was James Grayman, an Antiguan athlete.
Read more about this topic: Antigua And Barbuda At The 2008 Summer Olympics
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