Ghana at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
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IOC code | GHA |
NOC | Ghana Olympic Committee |
in Rio de Janeiro | |
Competitors | 14 in 5 sports |
Flag bearer | Flings Owusu-Agyapong[1] |
Medals |
|
Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Ghana competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, having taken part in all but three editions since its debut (as the Gold Coast) at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Ghana did not attend the 1976 Olympics because of the African boycott and did not attend the 1980 Olympics because of the United States boycott.
Ghana Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since 2004. A total of 14 athletes, seven per gender, were selected to the team for five different sports.[2] Among the sports represented by the athletes, Ghana marked its Olympic debut in swimming, women's judo, and men's weightlifting.
Notable Ghanaian athletes on the squad were Hungarian-born judoka Szandra Szögedi, and freestyle swimmer Kaya Forson, who established a record as the youngest ever competitor (aged 14) in the nation's Olympic history.[3] Javelin thrower John Ampomah was named the captain of the Ghanaian team, with track sprinter Flings Owusu-Agyapong leading the contingent as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1][4]
Ghana, however, failed to earn a single medal in Rio de Janeiro, continuing a drought that began at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where the men's football team earned the bronze.