Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

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. It was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The

Eritrean National Olympic Committee The Eritrean National Olympic Committee ( ti, ሃገራዊ ኮሚቴ ኦሎምፒክ ኤርትራ; IOC code: ERI) is the National Olympic Committee representing Eritrea. It was created in 1996 and recognised by the IOC in 1999. Eritrea made its ...

selected a total of 12 athletes, eleven men and one woman, to compete in athletics and cycling sports at the Games, matching its team size with

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Competitors Nebiat Habtemariam and

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

bronze medalist

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres ...

both returned for their fourth Olympic appearance. Eritrea left Rio de Janeiro without a single Olympic medal for the third consecutive time. Ghebreslassie missed out on the nation's second medal at the Olympic Games, finishing fourth in the men's marathon.

Background

Eritrea participated in five

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

between its debut in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The highest number of Eritreans participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the previous

and Rio 2016. The flag bearer for the

parade of nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

was an unnamed volunteer while an alternative athlete named Tsegay Tuemay bore the flag for the closing ceremony. Only one Eritrean athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympics,

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

Zersenay Tadese, who won a bronze medal in the 2004 men's 10,000 metres event.

Athletics (track and field)

Eritrean athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of three athletes in each event): ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women

Cycling

Road

Eritrea qualified one rider in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of his top 4 national ranking in the

2015 UCI Africa Tour The 2015 UCI Africa Tour was the 11th season of the UCI Africa Tour. The season began on 14 January with the Tour d'Egypte and ended on 20 December with the GP de Youssoufia. The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, ...

References

External links

* * {{Country at games navbox, Eritrea, 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 ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...