Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, having taken part in all but three editions since its debut (as the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

) at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. Ghana did not attend the 1976 Olympics because of the African boycott and did not attend the 1980 Olympics because of the United States boycott. Ghana Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since 2004. A total of 14 athletes, seven per gender, were selected to the team for five different sports. Among the sports represented by the athletes, Ghana marked its Olympic debut in swimming, women's judo, and men's weightlifting. Notable Ghanaian athletes on the squad were Hungarian-born judoka Szandra Szögedi, and freestyle swimmer Kaya Forson, who established a record as the youngest ever competitor (aged 14) in the nation's Olympic history. Javelin thrower John Ampomah was named the captain of the Ghanaian team, with track sprinter Flings Owusu-Agyapong leading the contingent as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Ghana, however, failed to earn a single medal in Rio de Janeiro, continuing a drought that began at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, where the men's football team earned the bronze.

Athletics (track and field)

Ghanaian athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women ;Field events

Boxing

Ghana entered one boxer to compete in the men's bantamweight division into the Olympic competition. Abdul Omar received an unused Olympic spot as the next highest-ranked boxer at the 2016 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament, as runner-up Mohamed Hamout of Morocco decided to accept his place instead in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) rankings.

Judo

Ghana qualified one judoka for the women's half-middleweight category (63 kg) at the Games. Hungarian-born Szandra Szögedi earned a continental quota spot from the African region as Ghana's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

Swimming

Ghana 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, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.

Weightlifting

Ghana qualified one male weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top five national finish at the 2016 African Championships. The team allocated this place to 17-year-old

Christian Amoah Christian Amoah (born 25 July 1999) is a Ghanaian weightlifter who currently competes in the 85 kg event. He competed in the Men's 77 kg at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Amoah represented Ghana in the Men's 85 kg at the 2016 Summer Olympic ...

References

External links

* * {{Country at games navbox, Ghana, 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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Olympics