Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

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. Since the nation's official debut in 1912, Icelandic athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for four occasions as a result of the worldwide Great Depression (1920 to 1932). Due to the absence of the men's handball team, the

National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland ( is, Íþrótta- og Ólympíusamband Íslands) (abbreviated ÍSÍ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Iceland, and the highest authority for sporting activity in the country. The ...

sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games for the first time since the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City. A total of eight athletes, three men and five women, were selected to the Icelandic team, competing only in athletics, judo, swimming, and artistic gymnastics. Attending his third straight Olympics, heavyweight judoka Þormóður Jónsson had been chosen by the committee to carry the Icelandic flag in the opening ceremony. Along with Jónsson, four other athletes also returned for their second Olympic appearance, including javelin thrower

Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir (born 28 October 1985) is an Icelandic former javelin thrower. Biography She represented her country at both 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games and has also competed at the 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 European Champi ...

, top 12 finalist from London 2012, and swimmers

Anton Sveinn McKee Anton Sveinn McKee (born 18 December 1993 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic swimmer who competes in the Men's 400m individual medley. Career International Swimming League in spring of 2020, Anton signed for thToronto Titans the first Canadian ...

, Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir, and

Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir Hrafnhildur Lúthersdóttir (; born 2 August 1991 in Hafnarfjörður is an Icelandic former swimmer. Born in Iceland, Lúthersdóttir moved to the United States to study public relations and swam for the University of Florida. At the 2012 Summer ...

. Iceland, however, failed to win a single Olympic medal, since the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where the men's handball squad took the silver in a final match against France. Swimmers Lúthersdóttir ( women's 100 m breaststroke) and Gústafsdóttir ( women's 200 m backstroke) were the only Icelandic athletes progressing further to the final round for the first time since

Örn Arnarson Örn Arnarson (born 31 August 1981 in Reykjavík) is a swimmer from Iceland. He won his first major title in 1998 at the European SC Championships in Sheffield. There he captured the title in the 200 m backstroke. A year later, at the E ...

(men's 200 m backstroke) did so in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, but both of them finished off the podium.

Athletics

Icelandic 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 ;Field events

Gymnastics

Artistic

Iceland has entered one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition, signifying the nation's sporting comeback after a 12-year hiatus. Russian-born Irina Sazonova became the first Icelandic female to book an Olympic spot in the apparatus and all-around events at the Olympic Test Event in

. ;Women

Judo

Iceland has qualified one judoka for the men's heavyweight category (+100 kg) at the Games. Þormóður Jónsson earned a continental quota spot from the European region, as the highest-ranked Icelandic judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

Swimming

Icelandic swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Iceland, Olympics 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 ...

Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics