Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This nation marked its ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The

Bahrain Olympic Committee Bahrain Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية البحرينية, IOC code: BRN) is the National Olympic Committee representing Bahrain as a member of the International Olympic Committee. It was formed in 1978 and received off ...

fielded a team of 35 athletes, 21 men and 14 women, across four different sports at the Games. It was the nation's largest ever delegation sent to the Olympics, roughly a triple of its full roster size at any edition since it debuted in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. Among the sports represented by the nation's athletes, Bahrain marked its Olympic debut in wrestling. More than fifty percent of the nation's roster were born outside Bahrain; majority of its athletes hailed from select African countries, particularly in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Notable Bahraini athletes featured sprinters Abubakar Abbas and

Ali Khamis Ali Khamis Abbas Ali KhamisKHAMIS Ali Khamis Abbas ...

in the men's 400 metres, London 2012 Olympians

Mimi Belete Mimi Belete Gebregeiorges (born 9 June 1988) is an Ethiopian-born middle and long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. She won the 5000 metres title at the 2010 Asian Games. She moved to Belgium as a political refugee along ...

and

Shitaye Eshete Shitaye Eshete Habtegebrel (born 21 May 1990) is an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. Debut She first began competing for the oil-rich Gulf state in 2009, making her debut at the Asian Cross Countr ...

(both came from Ethiopia), Kenyan-born marathon runner and 2015 world bronze medalist

Eunice Kirwa Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (born 20 May 1984) is a Kenyan-born Bahraini long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. Having switched countries in 2013, she is the Bahraini record holder with 2:21:17 hours for the distance, set in 2017 ...

, Jamaican-born sprinters Kemarley Brown and

Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...

, Russian-born freestyle wrestler

Adam Batirov Adam Alavdinovich Batirov (russian: Адам Алавдинович Бати́ров; born 13 January 1985 in Dagestan) is a Russian and Bahraini freestyle wrestler of Avar heritage. He is a World Cadet Championships runner-up and Cadet Europea ...

, and freestyle swimmer Farhan Saleh, who eventually carried the nation's flag at the opening ceremony, the first by a male since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Bahrain left Rio de Janeiro with two medals (one gold and one silver), signifying its most successful outcome in Olympic history. These medals were awarded to Bahrain's first ever Olympic champion

Ruth Jebet Ruth Jebet (born 17 November 1996) is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner and steeplechase specialist who competes internationally for Bahrain. She was the world record holder and was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 3000 metres steeplechase, ...

in the women's 3000 m steeplechase, and Kirwa, who earned a silver in the women's marathon.

Medalists

Athletics

Bahraini athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): The track and field team was named on May 11, 2016, including track star Abubakar Abbas, 2014 Asian Games champion

Kemi Adekoya Oluwakemi Adekoya (born 16 January 1993 in Lagos) is a Nigerian-born track and field athlete who competes for Bahrain. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles and has a personal best of 54.59 seconds – a Bahraini record. In January 2019, it w ...

, and two-time silver medalist

. ;Track & road events ;Men PortraitRuthJebet3000mStpRio2016

;Women

Shooting

Bahrain has received an invitation from ISSF to send Mahmood Haji in the men's rifle events to the Olympics. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Swimming

Bahrain has received a Universality invitation from

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.

Wrestling

Bahrain has qualified one wrestler for the men's freestyle 65 kg into the Olympic competition as a result of his semifinal triumph at the

initial In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...

meet of the World Qualification Tournament in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, signifying the nation's debut in the sport. ;Men's freestyle

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Bahrain, Summer Olympics Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2016 in Bahraini sport