While under French administration during the 1920s, Greater Lebanon saw the formation of numerous clubs form in sports such as football, swimming, skiing, combat sports, and athletics. The first federations to organize these clubs were founded in 1933.[1] Prior to Lebanon's first appearance in a Summer Olympic Games, an official Lebanese delegation of Lebanese Football Association representatives, led by association president Pierre Gemayel, attended the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. There, Gemayel was influenced by the German people's nationalism and discipline. The visit helped influence him to establish the right-wing Kataeb Party.[2]
The Republic of Lebanon declared independence from France on 22 November 1943, and officially gained it on 24 October 1945. One year later, on 28 December 1946, the Lebanese Olympic Committee was founded by national decree 1350 and was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 22 November 1947.[3] Following advice from Greek IOC representative Angelo Bolanaki, Sheik Gabriel Gemayel, of the Gemayel family, was the first president of the Committee.[4] Following recognition, Lebanon competed in its first ever Olympic Games during the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from 30 January to 8 February 1948.[5] Five months later, Lebanon sent a delegation of eight men to represent the nation for the 1948 Summer Games in London.[6]
Michel Ghaoui was Lebanon's sole boxing representative for the 1948 Games. Despite winning the 1947 national boxing championship in the bantamweight division,[7] he boxed in the featherweight competition for the Olympics. On 7 August, Ghaoui faced Chilean Manuel Videla in the preliminary round of 32 match. Ghaoui lost the bout by decision.[8]
Lebanon sent two shooters to the 1948 Games. Khalil Hilmi competed in the Games' two pistol events. In the 50 metre pistol event on 3 August, Hilmi scored 56 points in the first round, 56 in the second, 61 in the third, 58 in the fourth, 47 in the fifth, and 53 in the sixth. With 331 total points, Hilmi ranked last in the 50-person field. He finished 139 points behind the next-ranked shooter, Enrique Tejeda of Cuba.[9] The following day, Hilmi competed in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol event, Hilmi hit 53 of the 60 targets and finished with a score of 228 in the first round and 195 in the second, for a total of 423. This mark put him in 57th place in a field of 59.[10]
Salem Salam competed in the 50 metre rifle, prone event, on 3 August. He finished with 94 points in the first round, 93 in the second, 89 in the third, 87 in the fourth, 87 in the fifth, and 94 in the sixth. Finishing with 544 points, he finished 70th in a field of 71, 33 points ahead of last-ranked Samad Mollazal of Iran.[11]
Five wrestlers competed for Lebanon during the 1948 Games. Bechara Abou Rejalie was the sole freestyle wrestler for the country, competing in the lightweight competition. In the first round on 29 July, Rejalie wrestled Kim Seog-yeong of South Korea. Rejalie retired during the match and did not return to the competition, placing him tied for 17th with José Luis Pérez of Mexico, who also withdrew after his loss.[12]
There were four Greco-Roman wrestlers for Lebanon. Abdallah Sidani competed in the flyweight competition. On 3 August, during the first round, he lost to Edmond Faure of France by decision, though Sidani was only marked with two points due to a quality technical performance. However, during the second round on 4 August, he was pinned by Manuel Varela of Argentina in the ninth minute, scoring three additional points. This brought him to the maximum of five points, eliminating him. Sidani ranked 10th in the competition.[13]
In the featherweight contest, Safi Taha quickly pinned Raymond Strasser of Luxembourg during the first round on 3 August. Taking only 1 minute and 46 seconds, Taha's bout was the quickest of that round. His success continued in round two the following day, when he defeated Antoine Merle of France by decision, adding a point to his total. During the third round on 5 August, however, Taha was pinned by Georg Weidner of Austria in the eleventh minute, docking him three points. That same day, a loss to Luigi Campanella of Italy by decision in the fourth round saw Taha total seven points, eliminating him from the competition and placing him in sixth, tied with three other wrestlers: El-Sayed Mohamed Kandil of Egypt, Egil Solsvik of Norway, and Erkki Talosela of Finland.[14] Two years later, Taha would capture silver in the Greco-Roman featherweight division of the 1950 World Wrestling Championships.[15]
Charif Damage wrestled in the lightweight competion, starting with a win in the eleventh minute by pin against Luis Rosado of Argentina in the first round on 3 August. In the second round on 4 August, Damage defeated Abraham Kurland of Denmark by decision, adding a point to his total. On 5 August, during the third round, Damage again won by decision, defeating Ahmet Şenol of Turkey, accumulating another point by doing so. Later that day, during the fourth round, Damage once again won by decision against Georgios Petmezas of Greece. With that win, Damage totaled three points going into the fifth round on 6 August, being among the last four wrestlers still remaining in the tournament. However, Damage lost his matchup against Aage Eriksen of Norway by decision, putting his point total at six. While this should have eliminated him, Károly Ferencz of Hungary also lost his match, placing him at six points as well, prompting a tie-breaker sixth round match to determine who the bronze medal winner would be. The match ended with Damage losing to Ferencz by decision, though Damage was marked with only two points due to his technical performance. By losing, Damage was off the podium, finishing in fourth place.[16]
In the light heavyweight division, Ibrahim Mahgoub represented Lebanon. In the first round on 3 August, Mahgoub lost to Erling Stuer Lauridsen of Denmark by decision, costing him three points.[17] Prior to the second round on 4 August, Maghoub failed to weigh in for his bout,[18] disqualifying him from the contest and placing him in 11th, tied with three other wrestlers who lost both of their first two bouts: Albin Dannacher of Switzerland, Athanasios Kambaflis of Greece, and Adolfo Ramírez of Argentina.[17]
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