East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

(Timor-Leste) competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

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 ...

which was held from 8 to 24 August. The country's participation at Beijing marked its second appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut in the

2004 Summer Olympics 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), ...

. The delegation included Augusto Ramos Soares and

Mariana Diaz Ximenez Mariana Diaz Ximenez, (born December 13, 1983, in Baucau), is an East Timorese athlete who specialises in the marathon. A resident of Dili, she fled her home in 1999 after East Timor's declaration of independence from Indonesia, and the ensuing ...

, both of whom were marathoners that qualified via wildcard places as the nation had no athletes that met the "A" or "B" qualifying standards. Ximenez was selected as

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. Neither of the two athletes finished their events; Soares did not even start.

Background

East Timor participated in two Summer Olympic games between its debut in the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The

National Olympic Committee of East Timor National Olympic Committee of Timor Leste ( pt, Comité Olímpico Nacional de Timor-Leste, IOC code: TLS) is the National Olympic Committee representing East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste. See also * East Timor at the Olympics External link ...

(NOC) selected two athletes via wildcards. Usually, an NOC would be able to enter up to 3 qualified athletes in each individual event as long as each athlete met the "A" standard, or 1 athlete per event if they met the "B" standard. However, since East Timor had no athletes that met either standard, they were allowed to select two athletes, one of each gender, as wildcards. The two athletes that were selected to compete in the Beijing games were Augusto Ramos Soares in the Men's

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

and Mariana Diaz Ximenez in the Women's

. Ximenez was flag bearer for the opening ceremony.

Athletics

Making his Summer Olympic debut, Augusto Ramos Soares qualified for the Beijing Games after being granted a wildcard place without competing in any notable sporting event. He was to compete against 97 other athletes in the Men's Marathon but he was one of 3 athletes to not start the event. Beijing National Stadium 1

Competing at her first Summer Olympics, Mariana Diaz Ximenez was notable for carrying the East Timor at the opening ceremony. She qualified for the Beijing Games via being granted a wildcard place, after her best time, 3:22:03 hours, was 40:03 minutes slower than the "B" qualifying standard for her event. Ximenez competed against 81 other athletes in the Women's marathon on August 17. Ximenez was one of 13 athletes to not finish the event after suffering a bruised left foot at approximately the mark. ;Men ;Women

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, East Timor, Olympics Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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 ...