© 2025 Maine Public

Bangor Studio/Membership Department
63 Texas Ave.
Bangor, ME 04401

Lewiston Studio
1450 Lisbon St.
Lewiston, ME 04240

Portland Studio
323 Marginal Way
Portland, ME 04101

Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Iraqi Olympians Eager to Let Games Begin

The Iraqi Olympic team posted banners on a table during a news conference Monday.
Howard Berkes, NPR
The Iraqi Olympic team posted banners on a table during a news conference Monday.

Iraq is fielding its first Olympic team since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi athletes spoke in Athens of their excitement about competing in the Summer Games. Their 29 athletes include a soccer unit, a swimmer and two runners, among others.

But the Iraqi team is small, and its participation is expected to have more symbolic than athletic significance. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Howard Berkes is a correspondent for the NPR Investigations Unit.