With A Population Of 34 Thousand People, San Marino Is The Smallest Country To Win An Olympic Medal

JAKARTA - Tokyo 2020 is yet another Olympics full of surprises when San Marino becomes the least populous country in the world to win an Olympic medal.

Alessandra Perilli secured a bronze medal in the women's trap shooting event, becoming the first person to win an Olympic medal in the country of 34,000 people.

Alessandra Perilli🇸🇲 has won #bronze in #Shooting - Women's Trap final at #Tokyo2020 This is the first #Olympics medal in history for San Marino! With a population of around 34,000, #SMR is also the smallest country in history to win an @Olympics medal! #UnitedByEmotion pic.twitter.com/Sk56uSSyLB

— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 29, 2021

San Marino replaces Bermuda as the smallest country in the world to win a gold medal after three days ago, Bermuda, whose island nation won a gold medal from triathlete Flora Duffy. It is also the second all-time medal for Bermuda from the Olympics.

San Marino is located in the north of Italy and is the least populated country to win an Olympic medal in both summer and winter after Liechtenstein, which has collected 10 winter Olympic medals.

“We spent two sleepless nights. We watched everything live and as soon as we found out he had won the medal, we all burst into tears," Perilli's father, Claudio, told the ANSA news agency.

Perilli, who finished fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, did better nine years later by finishing behind gold medalist Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia and silver medalist Kayle Browning of the United States.

A historical moment!San Marino win their first ever Olympic medal as Alessandra Perilli secures bronze in the #Shooting trap women's final.@ISSF_Shooting @nocsanmarino #SMR pic.twitter.com/4js8ycGj9h

— Olympics (@Olympics) July 29, 2021

"In that final when the fifth shooter didn't qualify, I thought, I don't want to be in fourth place anymore, so I have to make it," said the 33-year-old athlete.

"This is the first medal for me and my country. We are a small country but very proud.”