Malawi competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from July 24th to August 9th 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Summer Olympics. Malawi did not attend the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, because of its support to the African and United States-led boycott.
| Malawi at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | MAW |
| NOC | Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association of Malawi |
| in Tokyo, Japan July 23, 2021 – August 8, 2021 | |
| Competitors | 5 in 4 sports |
| Flag bearers (opening) | Jessica Makwenda Areneo David |
| Flag bearer (closing) | N/A |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Rhodesia (1960) | |
Competitors
The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Athletics | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Judo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swimming | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Archery
Malawi received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a male archer for the second consecutive time to the Olympic tournament.[2]
| Athlete | Event | Ranking round | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Seed | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | ||
| Areneo David | Men's individual | 562 | 64 |  Kim (KOR)L 0–6 | Did not advance | |||||
Athletics
Malawi received a universality slot from World Athletics to send a female track and field athlete to the Olympics.[3]
- Key
- Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
- Q = Qualified for the next round
- q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
- NR = National record
- N/A = Round not applicable for the event
- Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
- Track & road events
| Athlete | Event | Preliminaries | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Asimenye Simwaka | Women's 100 m | 11.76 NR | 2 Q | 11.68 NR | 8 | Did not advance | |||
Judo
For the first time in history, Malawi received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission and the International Judo Federation to send Harriet Boniface in the women's extra-lightweight category (48 kg) to the Olympics.[4]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | ||
| Harriet Boniface | Women's –48 kg |  Chibana (BRA)L 00–10 | Did not advance | |||||
Swimming
Malawi received a universality invitation from FINA to send two top-ranked swimmers (one per gender) in their respective individual events to the Olympics, based on the FINA Points System of June 28, 2021.[5]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Filipe Gomes | Men's 50 m freestyle | 24.00 | 47 | Did not advance | |||
| Jessica Makwenda | Women's 50 m freestyle | 28.96 | 61 | Did not advance | |||