Kenya 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 ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The

National Olympic Committee of Kenya The National Olympic Committee – Kenya (IOC code: KEN) is the National Olympic Committee representing Kenya. It was created in 1955 and recognised by the IOC that same year. Kenya made its debut at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Austr ...

(NOCK) sent its largest ever delegation to the Games, with 89 athletes, 47 men and 42 women, competing across seven sports. Among the sports represented by the nation's athletes, Kenya marked its Olympic debut in rugby sevens (new to the 2016 Games), as well as its return to archery after 16 years and judo after 24 years. As usual, athletics had the largest team by sport with 48 athletes, roughly more than half of the nation's full roster size. The Kenyan roster was highlighted by five past Olympic medalists, including world record holder

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. He is a two-time back-to-back Olympic champion from the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, a two-time World champion from t ...

in the men's 800 metres, middle-distance runner Asbel Kiprop, steeplechasers

Brimin Kipruto Brimin Kipruto (born 31 July 1985) is a Kenyan professional middle distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony, Keiyo District. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the ...

and

Ezekiel Kemboi Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born 25 May 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 W ...

, and four-time Olympian Vivian Cheruiyot, who previously won two medals in long-distance running at London 2012. Other notable Kenyan athletes featured Africa's top javelin thrower and 2015 world champion

Julius Yego Julius Yego (born 4 January 1989) is a Kenyan track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. Nicknamed "Mr. YouTube" because he learned how to throw by watching YouTube videos of javelin athletes, Yego is the African record and Com ...

, and archer Shehzana Anwar, who was eventually chosen as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Due to Kenya's national anti-doping organisation having been declared non-compliant with the

World Anti-Doping Code The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

, the International Olympic Committee decided on 21 June 2016 that the eligibility of Kenyan athletes should be decided on an individual basis by the International Federation, governing each sport. Despite the controversies, Kenya left Rio de Janeiro with 13 medals (6 golds, 6 silver, and 1 bronze), marking its most successful outcome in Olympic history based on the medal position. All of these medals were awarded to the track and field athletes, with Rudisha successfully retaining his men's 800 m title. For the first time in history, Kenya obtained medals in the field events and hurdles through Yego and

Boniface Mucheru Boniface Mucheru Tumuti (born 2 May 1992) is a Kenyan sprinter and hurdler. He competed in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2012 and 2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turk ...

, respectively, as well as the women's marathon title from

Jemima Sumgong Jemima Jelagat Sumgong (born 21 December 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races. She has won the London, Rotterdam and Las Vegas Marathons, and has finished runner-up at the Boston, Chicago and New York City Ma ...

. Tantalizing results in women's distance running saw Cheruiyot and

Faith Kipyegon Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 1500 metres. A 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record at the latter, she is the second woman in history t ...

upstage the race favorites from Ethiopia to take the gold medals. Meanwhile,

Conseslus Kipruto Conseslus Kipruto (born 8 December 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event. At the World Athletics Championships, Kipruto won gold medals in 20 ...

surpassed the defending champion Kemboi to earn Kenya's eleventh overall title in the men's 3000 m steeplechase. Kemboi, who initially won bronze to become the first steeplechaser with three Olympic medals, was eventually disqualified for stepping off the track at the water jump phase.

Medalists

Archery

One Kenyan archer qualified for the women's individual recurve by obtaining one of the three Olympic places available from the

2016 African Archery Championships The 2016 African Archery Championships was the 11th edition of the African Archery Championships. The event was held in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia from 28 January to 31 January 2016. The men's and women's individual recurve tournaments ...

in Windhoek, Namibia, anticipating the nation's Olympic return to the sport 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 ...

Athletics (track and field)

Kenyan athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): Six marathon runners (three per gender) were named to the Kenyan team on May 10, 2016, with 42 more athletes (29 men and 13 women) joining them and being added to the roster on July 2, 2016, based on their performances achieved throughout the qualifying period. Among them were reigning Olympic men's 800 metres champion

, two-time steeplechase gold medalist

, 2015 Worlds champions

(javelin throw) and

Nicholas Bett Nicholas Kiplagat Bett (27 January 1990 – 8 August 2018) was a Kenyan track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres hurdles. His personal best for the event is 47.79 seconds. He was a world champion in the event, having won in 2015, an ...

(400 m hurdles), and double Olympic medalist Vivian Cheruiyot in long-distance running. ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women ;Field events

Boxing

Kenya has entered three boxers to compete in each of the following weight classes into the Olympic boxing tournament.

Rayton Okwiri Rayton Nduku Okwiri (born 26 March 1986) is a Kenyan boxer who has held the African Boxing Union middleweight title since June 2019. He also qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Okwiri secured ...

had claimed his Olympic spot with a semifinal victory at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Meanwhile, light flyweight boxer Peter Mungai Warui had received a spare Olympic berth as the next highest-ranked boxer, not yet qualified, in the same meet, due to South Africa's decision not to accept spots through the continental qualifier. Bantamweight boxer and London 2012 Olympian

Benson Gicharu Benson Gicharu Njangiru (born 3 May 1985) is a Kenyan amateur boxer who won silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi (at flyweight), a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (at bantamweight) and qualified for the 2012 Olympics (at ...

rounded out the Kenyan roster with his semifinal triumph at the

2016 APB and WSB Olympic Qualifier The 2016 APB and WSB Olympic Qualifier for the boxing tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was held between July 3 and July 8, 2016 in Vargas, Venezuela. Medal table Qualified boxers Boxer qualif ...

in Vargas, Venezuela.

Judo

Kenya has qualified one judoka for the men's middleweight category (90 kg) at the Games, signifying the nation's Olympic comeback to the sport for the first time since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. Kiplangat Sang earned a continental quota spot from the African region, as the highest-ranked Kenyan judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

Rugby sevens

Men's tournament

Kenyan men's rugby sevens team qualified for the Olympics by winning the

2015 Africa Cup Sevens The 2015 RA Africa Cup Sevens is an Olympic qualification tournament for rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa on 14–15 November 2015. It was the 3rd championship in a series that began in 2013 ...

in Johannesburg, South Africa. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;Classification semifinal (9–12) ---- ;Eleventh place match

Women's tournament

Kenyan women's rugby sevens team qualified for the Olympics by attaining a runner-up finish at the

2015 Women's Africa Cup Sevens The 2015 Women's Africa Cup Sevens was a women's rugby sevens tournament for the continental championship of Africa and a qualification tournament for rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The competition was held in Kempton Park, South Af ...

in Johannesburg, as the qualifying winners South Africa decided not to accept their Olympic berth. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;Classification semifinal (9–12) ---- ;Eleventh place match

Swimming

Kenya has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.

Weightlifting

Kenya has received an unused quota place from IWF to send a male weightlifter to the Olympics.

References

External links

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