The Swaziland Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1972. Swaziland first sent a delegation to the Summer Olympic Games at the 1972 Summer Olympics. They did not send a delegation in 1976, and participated in the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics; but have participated in every Summer Olympics since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. This made Beijing Swaziland's eighth appearance at a Summer Olympiad. The 2008 Summer Olympics were held from 8–24 August 2008; a total of 10,942 athletes represented 204 National Olympic Committees. The Swazi delegation to Beijing consisted of four competitors, two track and field athletes; Isaiah Msibi and Temalangeni Dlamini; and two swimmers; Luke Hall and Senele Dlamini. Temalangeni Dlamini was chosen as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony, while Hall was selected to do the same at the closing ceremony.