Maldives at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Maldives at the
2016 Summer Olympics

IOC code MDV
NOC Maldives Olympic Committee
Website www.nocmaldives.org (in English)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors 4 in 2 sports
Flag bearer Aminath Shajan
Medals
Gold Silver Bronze Total
0 0 0 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

The Maldives competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The delegation included two track and field athletes: Hassan Saaid and Afa Ismail, as well as swimmers Ibrahim Nishwan and Aminath Shajan. Both Shajan and Ismail were returning competitors from the 2012 London Olympics, with the former leading the Maldivian squad as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony. The Maldives, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.

Background

The Maldives participated in eight Summer Olympics between its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The highest number of Maldivians participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea and the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain.[1] No Maldivian has ever won a medal at the Olympics. All of Maldivian participants competed at the Games through universality slots from the International Association of Athletics Federations and FINA.[2][3] Shajan was chosen to be The Maldives's flag bearer during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony while Ismail bore the flag during the closing ceremony.[4][5]

Athletics

The Maldives received universality slots from IAAF to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[3][6][7] The sprinters Afa Ismail and Hassan Saaid participated in the Games, with the former in the women's 200 metres and the latter in the men's 100 metres. This marked Saaid's debut in the Olympics, even though he has represented his country at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. The Games were Ismail's second time in the Olympics because of her participation in the 2012 London Olympics.[8] Ismail finished 8th in her heat with a time of 24.96 seconds, attaining a national record but failing to qualify for the semifinals.[9][10] Saaid achieved a time of 10.43 seconds in his heat, ranking first place and advancing to the quarterfinals. However, Saaid failed to qualify for the semifinals due to coming eighth with a time of 10.47 seconds in the quarterfinals. He could not beat his national record of 10.33 seconds.[11]

Key
  • Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
  • Q = Qualified for the next round
  • q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
  • NR = National record
  • N/A = Round not applicable for the event
  • Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
Track events
Athlete Event Heat Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Hassan Saaid Men's 100 m 10.43 1 Q[11] 10.47 8[11] Did not advance
Afa Ismail Women's 200 m 24.96 NR 8[9] N/A Did not advance

Swimming

The Maldives received a universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[2][12][13] Competitor Ibrahim Nishwan made his debut while Aminath Shajan made her second appearance, with the first being in the women's 50 metre freestyle event of the London Olympics, in which she did not qualify for the semifinals.[14][15] Nishwan participated in the men's 200 metre individual medley event of the 2014 Asian Games, but was disqualified following an illegal turn.[16] Shajan has previously won bronze at the women's 800m freestyle event of the 2016 South Asian Games with a time of 10:41.41.[17] The duo did not train in the conditions other athletes did. In an interview, Shajan said they "train in the sea" and that "sometimes jellyfish bite [them]."[18] Nishwan started in the fourth lane. He came third in his heat and ranked 71st total, being 55 positions shy of qualification with a time of 26.72 seconds.[19][20] Shajan started in the first lane and finished last (excluding Federica Pellegrini and Michelle Coleman who did not start) with a time of 1:05.71 minutes.[21]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Ibrahim Nishwan Men's 50 m freestyle 26.72[19] 71[20] Did not advance
Aminath Shajan Women's 100 m freestyle 1:05.71[21] 46[22] Did not advance

References

  1. ↑ "Olympic History of Maldives". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Qualification System – Games of the XXXI Olympics – Rio 2016" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Qualification System and Entry Standards" (PDF). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Swimmer Shajan to carry Maldives flag at Rio opening ceremony". Olympic Council of Asia. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony - Flag Bearers" (PDF). olympic.org. IOC. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "London 2012 100m women - Olympic Athletics". International Olympic Committee. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Women's 200m Schedule & Results – Olympic Athletics". 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Women's 200m – Heat 1 Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 "Results - Mens 100m - Athletics - Rio 2016 - Olympics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  12. ↑ "Women's Final Entry List" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Men's Final Entry List" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Swimming at the 2012 London Summer Games: Women's 50 metres Freestyle". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "London 2012 50M Freestyle Women". Olympic.org. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Asian Games: Maldives trailblazers say medals don`t matter". Zeenews.com. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Vinod, A. (8 February 2016). "Three cheers for Sandeep Sejwal". Thehindu.com. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "(Olympics) Jellyfish stings no bother for swimming's plucky minnows". NST Online. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Men's 50m Freestyle Schedule & Results – Olympic Swimming". 27 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Olympics-Swimming-Men's 50m freestyle heats results". Reuters. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  21. 1 2 "Women's 100m Freestyle Schedule & Results – Olympic Swimming". 27 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Olympics-Swimming-Women's 100m freestyle heats results". Reuters. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
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