| Colombia at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | COL |
| NOC | Colombian Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Rio de Janeiro | |
| Competitors | 147 in 23 sports |
| Flag bearers | Yuri Alvear (opening)[1] Ingrit Valencia (closing) |
| Medals Ranked 22nd |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Colombia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's nineteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Colombian Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico Colombiano) sent the nation's largest ever delegation to the Games, with 147 athletes, 74 men and 73 women, competing across 23 sports.[2]
Colombia returned home from Rio de Janeiro with a total of eight medals (three gold, two silver, and three bronze), marking the nation's most successful outcome in Summer Olympic history based on the gold medal count.[3] Moreover, it matched the overall medal tally from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Two of these medals were awarded to the Colombian team in BMX cycling, boxing, and weightlifting, and one each in athletics and judo.
The nation's most significant highlight of the Games came from BMX rider Mariana Pajón, who successfully defended her title in the women's race and set a record as the first Colombian to receive two Olympic gold medals.[4] Apart from Pajón, triple jumper Caterine Ibargüen, and weightlifting veteran Óscar Figueroa also helped the Colombians bring home more golds from Rio de Janeiro than ever before, with Figueroa becoming the first male from his country to top the podium at his fourth and final Olympics.[citation needed]
Boxers Yuberjen Martínez (men's light flyweight) and Ingrit Valencia (women's flyweight) brought home medals in their signature sport, last achieved at the 1988. Judoka and triple world titlist Yuri Alvear joined Pajon and freestyle wrestler Jackeline Rentería as the only Colombian women to win two Olympic medals, with a silver medal in the women's 70 kg division.[3] The remaining medals went to BMX rider Carlos Ramírez in the men's race, and weightlifter Luis Javier Mosquera, who received the bronze in the men's 69 kg, following the disqualification of Kyrgyzstan's Izzat Artykov over a doping offense.[5]
- ^ "Yuri Alvear llevará la bandera en la inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos Río 2016" [Yuri Alvear will carry the flag in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games] (in Spanish). El Heraldo. 4 August 2016.
- ^ Durango Hurtado, Jheyner (12 July 2016). "147 atletas clasificó Colombia a Río, la cifra podría aumentar" [147 Colombian athletes qualified for Rio, the numbers could increase] (in Spanish). El Colombiano. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ a b Wade, Jared (22 August 2016). "Pajón, Ibargüen, Figueroa lead Colombia to best Olympic performance in history". The City Paper Bogotá. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ Herman, Martyn (19 August 2016). "Cycling: Colombian Pajon gets party started with BMX gold". Reuters. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Kyrgyzstan weightlifter Izzat Artykov loses bronze medal over doping offence". The Guardian. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016.