| Switzerland at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| IOC code | SUI |
| NOC | Swiss Olympic Association |
| Website | www |
| in Rio de Janeiro | |
| Competitors | 104 in 17 sports |
| Flag bearers | Giulia Steingruber (opening)[1] Nino Schurter (closing) |
| Medals Ranked 24th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
Switzerland competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Swiss athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except for a partial boycott of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne as a protest to the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Swiss team consisted of 104 athletes, 59 men and 45 women, across seventeen sports.[2]
Switzerland returned home from Rio de Janeiro with seven medals (three golds, two silver, and two bronze), which matched its overall tally from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[3] Two of these medals were awarded to the Swiss team in cycling, with one each in artistic gymnastics, rowing, shooting, tennis, and triathlon.
Among the nation's winners were professional road cyclist Fabian Cancellara, who saved the best race of his storied career for last by reclaiming his men's time trial title for the second time (the first did so in Beijing 2008), and mountain biker Nino Schurter, who completed a full set of medals in his career hardware by striking the gold at his third attempt in the men's cross country race.[4][5] Entering the Games as the reigning world and double European champions, the lightweight four crew of Mario Gyr, Simon Niepmann, Simon Schürch, and Lucas Tramèr propelled their way ahead of their Danish and French rivals to take the country's first ever Olympic title in rowing after two decades.[6]
On the women's side, pistol shooter Heidi Diethelm Gerber, all-around gymnast Giulia Steingruber, and former world-number-one tennis player Martina Hingis, along with her doubles partner Timea Bacsinszky, accomplished their historic feats as the first ever Swiss females to stand on the podium in their respective sporting disciplines. Meanwhile, Nicola Spirig Hug picked up a silver in the women's triathlon to become the first in Olympic history to collect more than a single medal, bowing out her title defense to the world-ranked American challenger Gwen Jorgensen.[7][8]
- ^ "Giulia Steingruber ist Schweizer Fahnenträgerin" [Giulia Steingruber is the Swiss flag bearer] (in German). Swiss Gymnastics Federation. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "Switzerland to send 105 athletes to Rio". www.swissinfo.ch. Swissinfo. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "In pictures: final day success takes Swiss to seven medals". www.thelocal.ch. The Local. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Olympic Games: Cancellara caps off 16-year career with gold". Cyclingnews.com. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Nino Schurter finally takes Olympic Gold". Union Cycliste Internationale. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Swiss rowers win gold in Rio". Swissinfo. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Swiss win tennis silver and gymnastics bronze in Rio". Swissinfo. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Swiss triathlete gets Olympic silver". Swissinfo. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.