Cuba at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
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IOC code | CUB |
NOC | Cuban Olympic Committee |
in Rio de Janeiro | |
Competitors | 124 in 18 sports |
Flag bearer | Mijaín López[1] |
Medals Ranked 18th |
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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]