IOC country codes

So we got our water polo tickets and logged on to the website to check out which matches we would see.

First up? SRB v CHN. Well, that's pretty easy... must be Serbia vs. China, huh?

Next? AUS v HUN. Oh, Austria vs. Hungary, a little European match-up. Uh oh, wait a minute, or is that Australia vs Hungary? Hmmm....

The third match? ESP v MNE. Spain vs. _______??? I racked my brain and could not come up with a country that matched MNE. My best guess was Macedonia.

So I googled and found the IOC country codes listing.... MNE = Montenegro. (I also double checked a few others: AUS = Australia, AUT = Austria, and MKD = Macedonia.)

And that was the end of that... until I read a BBC article highlighting ten countries to watch - smaller countries that don't grab big headlines, but produce remarkable athletes (and stories). The article mentioned Sudanese sprinters, a Panamanian long-jumper, Romanian rowers AND the Montenegrin water polo team!! This is Montenegro's first Olympics as an independent nation and their water polo team could potentially win gold! And I get to see them play! If I knew where to buy a little Montenegro flag I would get one and take it to the match - I'm definitely cheering for them :)

I thought you might enjoy a little IOC country code trivia. Here are a few not-super-obvious but also not-nearly-as-obscure-as-VAN = Vanuatu from the country code listing. Tell me what you think each one stands for...

1. BIZ
2. PRK
3. TPE
4. ESA
5. IRI

Here's the list of country codes, but don't look at it before you enter the contest (that would be cheating!!):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IOC_country_codes

History buffs will definitely enjoy the list of "obsolete country codes" at the bottom of the page, which includes BIR = Burma and KHM = Khymer Republic.