Guam at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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Guam 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 August 5 to 21, 2016. This was the territory's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. Guam National Olympic Committee sent the territory's smallest delegation to the Games since
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
. Five athletes, three men and two women, were selected to the Guamanian team to compete only in athletics, mountain biking, and swimming. Three of them made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, with swimmers
Pilar Shimizu Pilar Shimizu (born May 27, 1996 in Tamuning, Guam) is a Guamanian breaststroke swimmer. While qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics she broke the 20-year-old national record set by Tammie Kaae, another Olympian from Guam. At these Olympi ...
and
Benjamin Schulte Benjamin Anthony Aguon Schulte (born December 22, 1995) is a Guamanian swimmer. Schulte entered the international stage at 15 years old when he won a silver medal at the 2011 Pacific Games held in New Caledonia. At the 2014 Micronesian Games, S ...
, who led the squad as Guam's flag bearer in the opening ceremony, returning for their second appearance from London 2012. None of the athletes made it past the first heat or won a medal. Guam has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.


Background

Guam was officially recognized on November 25, 1987, which they had worked towards for six years. Now officially recognized, Guam was able to send athletes to train in Australia and the United States, and had funding to improve its sports programs. Guam's first Olympic appearance was at the
1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts†...
where
Judd Bankert Judd Bankert (born September 9, 1949) is a former biathlon, biathlete who represented Guam at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Early life Bankert is a Michigan native, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids, raised in Lake Orion, Michigan, Lake Orio ...
became Guam's first Olympic athlete competing in the biathlon. Guam's first summer appearance was later that same year in Seoul, South Korea. Guam sent its largest delegation to the 1992 Summer Olympics, with 22 athletes. Starting with the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Guam began sending fewer athletes. The NOC's sponsors were concerned about the cost of sending large delegations and wanted to send athletes who were more likely to be competitive. The IOC also asked countries to reduce the size of their delegations, since there were so many countries competing in those Olympics.


Athletics

Guam received universality slots from
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics. Joshua Ilustre competed in the 800 m race, finishing with a time of 1:58.85. He found out an hour after the race that he was disqualified due to a lane violation. Ilustre appealed the ruling, but after twelve hours learned it was unsuccessful. He thought the video evidence was unclear on whether he stepped on the line. The time would have been a personal best for Ilustre. He said, "I wish things would have turned out better. It is what it is. I can’t do much about it, but make it into a learning experience".
Regine Tugade Regine Tugade-Watson (born January 28, 1998) is a Guamanian sprint (running), sprinter. She competed in the 2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres, women's 100 metres event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Be ...
ran the 100 m sprint. She finished third in her heat with a time of 12.52 seconds, just short of her national record time of 12.26 seconds. She placed third in her heat, failing to advance to the next round. She wore a red hair tie, a tradition she has kept since high school, which along with her red spikes match the color of Guam's flag. About her performance, she said "I didn’t run my personal best, but I honestly felt like I ran my hardest and I felt like I performed well. It may not show time-wise, but my body and my mentality feels like I pushed it to my limit". ;Track & road events


Cycling


Mountain biking

Guam qualified one mountain biker for the men's Olympic cross-country race, as Oceania's sole representative outside the world's top twenty-five nations in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of May 25, 2016. Peter Lombard was the only Guamanian athlete to qualify for the 2016 Olympics on merit. Lombard is an eye surgeon, and rearranged his work schedule to allow for more training. He also took a week off of work to train on mountains in Japan. Lombard was one of five athletes who did not finish the race. He had issues with his bike pedal that made it hard to clip in. At one point, the course was so slippery from rain riders had to dismount. The faulty clip made it difficult for Lombard to re-mount his bike. He crashed on both the first and second lap before being pulled from the race after the second crash. Once the motorcycle pulled him from the race, he was at the top of a mountain and unsure where to go. He decided to cheer on the cyclists still in the race, which drew attention and was well received by the crowd. About his Olympic experience, he said, "I’m happy to be done, happy to be in one piece".


Swimming

Guam received a universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.
Pilar Shimizu Pilar Shimizu (born May 27, 1996 in Tamuning, Guam) is a Guamanian breaststroke swimmer. While qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics she broke the 20-year-old national record set by Tammie Kaae, another Olympian from Guam. At these Olympi ...
competed in the 100 m breaststroke. She held the Guamanian national record for the event at the time of competition. Shimizu previously placed 42nd in the event during the 2012 London Olympics. She finished her event with a time of 1:16.65, which was not sufficient to advance.
Benjamin Schulte Benjamin Anthony Aguon Schulte (born December 22, 1995) is a Guamanian swimmer. Schulte entered the international stage at 15 years old when he won a silver medal at the 2011 Pacific Games held in New Caledonia. At the 2014 Micronesian Games, S ...
, the flagbearer for the opening and closing ceremonies, swam in the 100 m breaststroke. He broke his own national record with a time of 1:03.29 (previous record was 1:03.42). He was happy with his result and plans on competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Qualifiers for the latter rounds of all swimming events were decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.


References


External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Guam, 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