Independent Olympic athletes Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...

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. The team was composed of Kuwaiti athletes who competed under the

Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...

, as the

Kuwait Olympic Committee Kuwait Olympic Committee ( ar, اللجنة الأولمبية الكويتية, IOC code: KUW) is the National Olympic Committee representing Kuwait and organising the Kuwait Olympic team. 2010–2012 suspension The International Olympic Com ...

had been suspended by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) for the second time in five years due to governmental interference. In addition to the independent athletes, ten refugees were scheduled to compete under the Olympic flag as the

Refugee Olympic Team The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a s ...

, which constituted a separate team. Kuwaiti shooter

Fehaid Al-Deehani Fahad Al-Deehani ( ar, فهيد الديحاني, born October 11, 1966) is a Kuwaiti professional target shooter and officer in the Kuwaiti military. He was born in Kuwait City. Olympic career Al-Deehani won a bronze medal for the men's dou ...

became the first independent athlete to win a gold medal.

Medalists

Background

The Kuwaiti Olympic Committee was suspended due to interference from the government. The suspension started in October 2015. Kuwait was also suspended in 2010, but this suspension was lifted before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Fencing

One fencer competed as independent athlete into the Olympic competition. Abdulaziz Al-Shatti had claimed his Olympic spot in the men's épée with a top finish at the Asian Zonal Qualifier in

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, signifying the nation's sporters' return to the sport at the Olympics for the first time since

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Shooting

Kuwaiti individual shooters – starting as independent athletes and not for their country – have achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the 2015 World Shotgun and Asian Championships, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Swimming

Kuwait 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.

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Kuwait, Summer Olympics

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 ...

2016, Independent 2016, Independent Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics