Lebanon 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 17th appearance at the Summer Olympics. Lebanon did not attend the
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
in Melbourne, as a response to the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
.
The
Lebanese Olympic Committee sent a total of nine athletes, four men and five women, to compete in seven sports at the Games.
The Lebanese team featured two returning Olympians from
London 2012: American-born foil fencer
Mona Shaito
Mona Shaito ( ar, منى شعيتو) (born 12 May 1994) is a Lebanese-American fencer, who along with her brother Zain Shaito, represented Lebanon in foil at the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. Shaito was born and raised in Texas and attende ...
and world's top-ranked shooter
Ray Bassil
Ray Jacques Bassil ( ar, راي باسيل; born 20 October 1988) is a Lebanese trap shooter. She won gold at the 2016 ISSF World Cup in Nicosia, and at the 2019 Asian Shooting Championships in Doha. Bassil has also three times represented Le ...
in the women's trap. Almost half of the roster, including Bassil and slalom canoeist
Richard Merjan
Richard Merjan (born 10 November 1988) is a Lebanese-Australian slalom canoeist.
Merjan took up canoeing in 2001 at Ivanhoe Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia, and in 2003 started training with the Australian national team. He holds a dua ...
, were granted invitations by the Tripartite Commission to the Games, due to their recent achievements. Meanwhile, half-middleweight judoka and Brazil-raised athlete
Nacif Elias
Nacif Elias (; born 29 September 1988) is a Brazilian-born Lebanese judoka.
Career
Elias competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 81 kg event, in which he was eliminated in the second round, in his first match, by Emmanuel Lucenti. He was t ...
, who was later disqualified for an allegedly illegal joint lock on Argentina's
Emmanuel Lucenti
Emmanuel "Emma" Lucenti (born 23 November 1984) is a judoka from Argentina. He competed at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's half-middleweight (-81 kg). At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he lost in second round to Euan Bur ...
in his opening bout, led the Lebanese squad as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.
[
Lebanon, however, failed to win its first Olympic medal, since the ]1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in Moscow, where Greco-Roman wrestler Hassan Bchara took the bronze in the super heavyweight category.
Athletics
Lebanese athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
;Track & road events
Canoeing
Slalom
Lebanon received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Richard Merjan in the men's C-1 race, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.[
]
Fencing
Lebanon entered one fencer into the Olympic competition. London 2012 Olympian Mona Shaito
Mona Shaito ( ar, منى شعيتو) (born 12 May 1994) is a Lebanese-American fencer, who along with her brother Zain Shaito, represented Lebanon in foil at the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. Shaito was born and raised in Texas and attende ...
secured a spot in the women's foil as one of the two highest-ranked fencers from Asia outside the world's top 14 in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings. She lost in her first bout.
Judo
Lebanon qualified one judoka for the men's half-middleweight category (81 kg) at the Games. Nacif Elias was ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.[ He lost in his first match.
]
Shooting
Lebanon has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send London 2012 Olympian Ray Bassil
Ray Jacques Bassil ( ar, راي باسيل; born 20 October 1988) is a Lebanese trap shooter. She won gold at the 2016 ISSF World Cup in Nicosia, and at the 2019 Asian Shooting Championships in Doha. Bassil has also three times represented Le ...
in the women's trap, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was met by March 31, 2016.[ She failed to advance past the preliminary round.
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)
]
Swimming
Lebanon received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics. Both swimmers failed to advance past the preliminary round.
Table tennis
Lebanon entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games. Mariana Sahakian secured the Olympic spot in the women's singles as the highest-ranked table tennis player coming from the West Asia zone at the Asian Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong. She lost and was eliminated in her first match.
References
External links
*
{{Country at games navbox, Lebanon, 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
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 ...
Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics