Cuba at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Cuba at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeCUB
NOCCuban Olympic Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors124 in 18 sports
Flag bearer Mijaín López[1]
Medals
Ranked 18th
Gold
5
Silver
2
Bronze
4
Total
11
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Cuba competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twentieth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Cuban team consisted of 124 athletes, 89 men and 35 women, across eighteen sports.[2]

Cuba returned home from Rio de Janeiro with a total of 11 medals (5 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze), its lowest haul in Summer Olympic history since 1976 based on the overall tally.[3] Six of these medals were awarded to the Cuban team in boxing, three in wrestling, and one each in athletics and judo (both of which were won by women).

The most significant Cuban highlight of the Games came from Mijaín López, who successfully defended his super heavyweight title in Greco-Roman wrestling, matching a historic "three-peat" effort with Russian legend Alexander Karelin in the same sport category.[4][5] Moreover, Lopez joined heavyweight boxers Teófilo Stevenson (1972–1980) and Félix Savón (1992–2000) as the only Cubans to ever achieve three successive Olympic titles.[6][7]

Boxers Robeisy Ramírez (bantamweight), Arlen López (middleweight), and Julio César La Cruz (light heavyweight) contributed three of the country's gold medals through their respective weight categories, while reigning world lightweight champion Ismael Borrero added the Olympic title to his career treasury in Greco-Roman wrestling.[8] On the women's side, judoka Idalys Ortiz completed a full set of medals at her third Olympics with a silver in the heavyweight class (+78 kg), bowing out her title defense to France's Émilie Andéol.[9] Meanwhile, world champion Denia Caballero collected the country's only track and field medal with a bronze in the discus throw.[10]

  1. ^ "Mijaín López, abanderado de Cuba en Río de Janeiro 2016" [Mijaín López, Cuba's flag bearer for Rio de Janeiro 2016] (in Spanish). NBC Deportes. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  2. ^ Ramírez, Roberto (3 August 2016). "Cuban flag flying in Rio". Granma. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. ^ García Quintero, Iván (24 August 2016). "Juegos Olímpicos de Río: Cuba retrocede cuarenta años" [Rio Olympics: Cuba recedes after forty years] (in Spanish). Martí Noticias. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Lopez equals Karelin with third consecutive wrestling gold". Olympics. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez completes a golden three-peat". The Washington Post. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez wins third title in Olympics". Cuba News Agency. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. ^ Risco, Isaac (16 August 2016). "Cuba Gets its 2nd Gold in Rio, from Wrestler Mijail Lopez". Havana Times. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. ^ Nacianceno, Alfonso (23 August 2016). "Cuban boxing in Río: Blow by blow". Granma. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  9. ^ Smith, Shawn (13 August 2016). "Emilie Andeol dethrones Idalys Ortiz for women's heavyweight judo gold". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. ^ Quinones, Ronal (13 August 2016). "Cuba's Wrestlers Shined in Rio 2016". Havana Times. Retrieved 30 January 2017.