Qatar at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Qatar at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeQAT
NOCQatar Olympic Committee
Websitewww.olympic.qa/en (in English and Arabic)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors38 in 10 sports
Flag bearer Sheikh Ali Al-Thani[1]
Medals
Ranked 69th
Gold
0
Silver
1
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Qatar competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) sent the nation's largest ever delegation to the Games. A total of 38 athletes, 36 men and 2 women, were selected to the Qatari team across ten different sports, roughly more than a triple of its full roster size at London 2012.[2] Twenty-three of them were born outside Qatar, including eleven handball players, two boxers, a table tennis player, and a beach volleyballer.[3] In addition to three aforementioned sports, Qatar marked its Olympic debut in equestrian jumping and judo, as well as its return to weightlifting after 12 years.

The Qatari team was highlighted by two of its prominent athletes and Olympic bronze medalists from the previous Games: high jumper and current Asian record holder Mutaz Essa Barshim, and skeet shooter Nasser Al-Attiyah, who attended his sixth Games as the oldest and most experienced competitor (aged 45).[4] Other notable athletes on the Qatari delegation also included Asia's fastest sprinter Femi Ogunode, table tennis legend Li Ping, freestyle swimmer Nada Arkaji, and equestrian rider Sheikh Ali Al-Thani, who eventually served as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[5]

Qatar left Rio de Janeiro with a historic silver-medal feat by Barshim, upgrading his bronze from London four years earlier. Meanwhile, Al-Thani and hammer thrower Ashraf Amgad Elseify narrowly missed out of the podium to join with Barshim on the nation's medal tally, finishing among the top six in their respective sporting events.[6]

  1. ^ "The Flagbearers for the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ^ Scott, Victoria (21 July 2016). "Largest-ever Qatar Olympic team heading to Rio (but only two women)". Doha News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Qatar's recruited athletes stir debate on citizenship". Reuters. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Al Attiyah, Barshim lead Qatar charge at Rio Olympic Games". Qatar: The Peninsula. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  5. ^ Al-Khatri, Shabina (6 August 2016). "Team Qatar represents at Olympic opener in Rio". Doha News. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  6. ^ Chatriwala, Omar (20 August 2016). "First silver medal win is Qatar's legacy at the 2016 Rio Olympics". Doha News. Retrieved 24 October 2016.