What is it like to be your country’s only Olympian?

As the only athlete his country sent to the Paris Olympics, athlete Shaun Gill was enjoying his temporary status as Belize’s “most famous person”.

He is one of four athletes sent to the 2024 Games as the sole representative of their country. It’s a burden that brings pride – and more anxiety.

Individual contestants told the BBC that their jobs can be lonely, but being their country’s official during the opening ceremony was exciting.

As a result of Gill’s sudden celebrity, others in the sports community were chasing his autograph, the 31-year-old told the BBC.

“I had a joke with one of my friends that I might need a security detail,” he laughed.

Larger Olympic delegations – such as those sent by the US and the UK – are able to choose their managers from large groups of athletes.

But Belize, a Central American nation of less than half a million people, had only one election – as did Liechtenstein, Nauru and Somalia.

Gill waved his country’s flag with all the patriotic fervor he could muster, as he and other athletes paraded along the Seine river in boats. He went public with his dedication efforts in the rain.

Carrying the nation’s hopes was stressful, Gill admitted. He did not advance to the men’s 100m final, and jet lag appeared to have prevented him from running as well as he had hoped.

“When the game’s not on, I’m like, ‘Man, I hope I didn’t disappoint you all,'” he said.

Somali runner Ali Idow Hassan is hoping to do what Gill failed to do: make it to the podium at the Stade de France.

If Hassan is fast enough in the men’s 800m on Wednesday, he will advance to the semi-finals.

Otherwise, the east African nation’s Olympic medal hopes will be over in just over 100 seconds: the time it will take Hassan and his rivals to run around the track.

Some of the world’s smallest countries benefit from universal rules designed to ensure diverse representation of countries during sporting events.

Hassan, 26, told the BBC he was “very happy” to be his nation’s lone ambassador at Paris 2024, but admitted something was wrong: “I feel really bad when I’m alone.”

But Hassan has made friends with athletes from other African countries. The experience of staying in the athletes’ village was less than expected, the contestants admitted.

Romano Püntener, the mountain biker who represented Liechtenstein alone, was hunted to the compound by none other than Andy Murray.

The tennis ace wanted to exchange pin badges with Püntener, knowing that one from Liechtenstein was rare. Badges are often traded by athletes who visit the international circuit.

Liechtenstein is a small, landlocked country between Austria and Switzerland, with a population of 38,000. There were few elite athletes.

The Olympics were “unforgettable” for Püntener, who said he appreciated the full investment he received as his country’s only hope for the 2024 Games.

“It only helped me,” thought Püntener. “We can build a whole team around me, and I can decide who I want to be with – and who I don’t.”

The 20-year-old finished 28th in last week’s race, his first at the Olympics. But since he was not expected to receive a medal, he was able to enjoy himself, and he appreciated the support of 20 or 30 people who came to cheer him on. Among them was the prime minister of the country.

But in the digital age, the flood of support can be a distraction when athletes want to focus on serving their country.

“It was as if I received a message from all the people living in Liechtenstein,” said Püntener.

Gill said he received “thousands” of well wishes. “My phone is freezing, my Instagram is freezing,” he said. “I had to turn it off at one point because I couldn’t even have a moment of peace for myself… I appreciate it, but I think I should have learned to control it much sooner.”

Despite the massive support they may have received, independent competitors face challenges in many ways.

Winzar Kakiouea competed in the men’s 100m race for Nauru, the world’s smallest and most aid-dependent Pacific island republic.

He told the New York Times that most people he met had never heard of his country (population: 11,000), which doesn’t even have a proper race track, only a “dirt oval”.

When the Games are over, and the spotlight turns to something else, these competitors will return to lives that may look very different from those of the world’s biggest sports stars.

Gill has chosen to retire from the big races and will now focus on training the next generation of Belizean runners, as well as his future career as an engineer.

Püntener will return to his home in Schaan, in the mountains of Liechtenstein, which is ideal for cross-country cycling. “To me, it feels like a big city,” he said.

Hassan will return to training in Ethiopia, although he hopes to one day live in his hometown of Mogadishu.

Speaking on the eve of the men’s 800m event, he hoped that improving the security situation in Somalia would mean more delegates being sent to the upcoming Olympics.

Somalia has 17 million people, but has been wracked by civil war for decades.

“One day, there will be more athletes,” Nassan predicted. “Ten athletes, 100 athletes will be here.”