Mediterranean Games

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Mediterranean Games

Alexandria Mediterranean Games 1951
Flag of the games
First Event	1951, in Alexandria, Egypt
Occur every	four years
Last Event	2009, Pescara, Italy
Purpose	Sports for the Mediterranean
President	Mr. Amar Addadi (ALG)
Website	International Mediterranean Games Committee

The Mediterranean Games are a multi-sport games held every four years, mainly for nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea, where Europe, Africa and Asia meet. The idea was proposed at the 1948 Summer Olympics by Muhammed Taher Pasha, chairman of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, and they were first held in 1951. The first 10 games took place always one year preceding the Olympics. However, from 1993 on, they were held the year following the Olympic games.

The Games were inaugurated on October 1951, in Alexandria, Egypt, in honour of Muhammed Taher Pasha, the man to whom their inspiration is owed, with contests being held in 13 sports along with the participation of 734 athletes from 10 countries. Ever since, they take place every 4 years without any interruption. In 1955, in Barcelona, during the II Games, the set up was decided of a Supervisory and Controlling Body for the Games, a kind of Executive Committee. The decisions were finally materialized on June 16, 1961, and the said Body was named, upon a Greek notion, ICMG (International Committee for the Mediterranean Games).

Contents 1 Description 2 Participating countries 3 Flag 4 Host cities 5 List of sports 6 All-time medal table 1951-2009 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Description

The Mediterranean Games present an opportunity for peaceful athletic competition between youth from different continents, cultures and religions — all bound together via a common Olympic Ideal, which has sprung from the ancient Mediterranean country of Greece, the cradle of contemporary western civilization. A chance is thus given, through these games, for young people to get to know each other, appreciate each other, reaffirm or strengthen their ties in a climate of genial rivalry.

The Mediterranean Games, in terms of the preparation and composition of the National Delegation, are held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC). However, their establishment too must be credited to the HOC, for it held a leading part in their being founded despite all difficulties.

Athens is the permanent seat of the ICMG (irrespective of who the President might be) and the Committee’s General Secretary is Greek. This comes as a further tribute to Greece, highlighting its leading role with regard to the function and strengthening of the institution.

The logo of the games, also referred to as the "Mediterranean Olympics", is composed of three white rings symbolically representing Africa, Asia, and Europe — the three continents that border the Mediterranean Sea. This logo has been used since the Split games in 1979, for which it was devised and afterwards accepted for the whole Games. During the closing ceremony, the flag of the games is transferred to the country of the city chosen for the organisation of the next Mediterranean Games.

[edit] Participating countries

At present, 23 countries participate in the games:^[1]

• Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.

• Asia: Lebanon, Syria

• Europe: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey

The only country bordering the Mediterranean Sea which is not permitted to participate is Israel. It has been claimed that the exclusion of Israel is driven by political motivation.^[2]

The only countries not bordering the Mediterranean Sea which nonetheless participate are Andorra, San Marino and Serbia.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee has suggested that nine more countries that do not satisfy geographic criteria to be allowed to participate, such as Bulgaria, Macedonia, Portugal and some Arab countries.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Flag

The symbol of the Mediterranean Games consists of three rings representing Asia, Africa and Europe, the three continents involved in this competition.^[3] The rings dissolve in a wavy line in their lower part, as if they were immersed in the Mediterranean Sea. During the closing ceremony, the flag is transferred to the country of the city chosen to host the next Mediterranean Games.^[3]

[edit] Host cities

No inland city has ever hosted the games. All but one of the host cities to date have been situated on the Mediterranean coast. (Casablanca is located on the Atlantic coast.) Below together the official numbers in sequence

No	Year	Host		Participating Countries	Sports	Competitions	Athletes		Total
		City	Country				Male	Female
I	1951	Alexandria	(Egypt)	10	14	91	734	---	734
II	1955	Barcelona	(Spain)	10	20	102	1.135	---	1.135
III	1959	Beirut	(Lebanon)	11	17	106	792	---	792
IV	1963	Naples	(Italy)	13	17	93	1.057	---	1.057
V	1967	Tunis	(Tunisia)	12	14	93	1.211	38	1.249
VI	1971	İzmir	(Turkey)	14	18	137	1.235	127	1.362
VII	1975	Algiers	(Algeria)	15	19	160	2.095	349	2.444
VIII	1979	Split	(Yugoslavia) now Croatia	14	26	192	2.009	399	2.408
IX	1983	Casablanca	(Morocco)	16	20	162	1.845	335	2.180
X	1987	Latakia	(Syria)	18	19	162	1.845	335	2.180
XI	1991	Athens	(Greece)	18	24	217	2.176	586	2.762
XII	1993	Languedoc-Roussillon	(France)	20	24	217	1.994	604	2.598
XIII	1997	Bari	(Italy)	21	27	234	2.999	804	3.803
XIV	2001	Tunis	(Tunisia)	23[dubious – discuss]	23	230	2.002	1.039	3.041
XV	2005	Almería	(Spain)	21	27	258	2,134	1,080	3,214
XVI	2009	Pescara	(Italy)	23	28
XVII	2013	Volos and Larissa	(Greece)

[edit] List of sports

There are Athletics, Field Athletics, Aquatics, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Fencing, Archery, Bowling, Shooting, Cycling

[edit] All-time medal table 1951-2009

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Italy	751	633	578	1962
2	France	577	520	448	1545
3	Spain	269	377	470	1116
4	Turkey	263	174	216	653
5	Yugoslavia	191	168	155	514
6	Greece	165	215	291	671
7	Egypt	103	161	191	455
8	Tunisia	70	61	110	241
9	Algeria	55	53	93	201
10	Morocco	52	60	83	193
11	Croatia	31	50	57	138
12	Slovenia	32	36	55	123
13	Syria	26	35	73	134
14	Serbia*	25	31	55	111
15	United Arab Republic	23	21	30	74
16	Lebanon	10	22	40	72
17	Cyprus	8	15	13	36
18	Albania	5	15	13	32
19	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	6	13	22
20	Libya	2	1	13	16
21	San Marino	1	7	2	10
22	Montenegro	2	2	3	7
23	Malta	0	2	3	5
24	Monaco	0	1	1	2
Total		2421	2422	2697	7540

• *competed in 1997 and 2001 as FR Yugoslavia, and in 2005 as Serbia and Montenegro.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• International Mediterranean Games Committee
• Mediterranean Games Athletic results at gbrathletics website

v • d • e Mediterranean Games 1951 Alexandria • 1955 Barcelona • 1959 Beirut • 1963 Naples • 1967 Tunis • 1971 Izmir • 1975 Algiers • 1979 Split • 1983 Casablanca • 1987 Latakia • 1991 Athens • 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon • 1997 Bari • 2001 Tunis • 2005 Almeria • 2009 Pescara • 2013 Larissa

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