Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

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. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Olympics. Gabon Olympic Committee (french: Comité Olympique Gabonais) sent a total of six athletes, four men and two women, to compete in four different sports at these Games. The nation's roster was relatively smaller by nearly three quarters of its size from London 2012, where Gabon registered a team of 26 athletes. Among the sports represented by the athletes, Gabon made its Olympic debut in swimming. Among the Gabonese athletes on the team were sprinters

Wilfried Bingangoye Wilfried Bingangoye (born March 25, 1985) is a Gabonese athlete specializing in the 100 metres., beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 25, 2008 His personal best time is 10.48 seconds, achieved in August 2009 in Castres. Participating in the 2004 Summer Oly ...

and

Ruddy Zang Milama Perennes Paulette Ruddy Zang-Milama (born June 6, 1987 in Port-Gentil) is a Gabonese sprint athlete. Career Zang Milama represented Gabon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed third in her fir ...

, and taekwondo fighter Anthony Obame, who established history as the nation's first ever Olympic medalist, earning the silver in the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg) four years earlier. The most successful athlete of the Games, Obame led the team as Gabon's first male flag bearer in the opening ceremony since

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. Gabon, however, left Rio de Janeiro without a single Olympic medal, failing to reproduce it from the previous Games.

Athletics (track and field)

Gabonese 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

Judo

Gabon has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Sarah Myriam Mazouz was ranked among the top 14 eligible judokas for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while Paul Kibikai at men's half-middleweight (81 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the African region as Gabon's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position.

Swimming

Gabon has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send a male swimmer for the first time to the Olympics.

Taekwondo

Gabon entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics. 2012 Olympic silver medalist Anthony Obame qualified automatically for the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg) by finishing in the top 6 WTF Olympic rankings.

References

External links

* * {{Country at games navbox, Gabon, Summer 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 ...