The

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

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 third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Marshall Islands Olympic delegation included five athletes, competing only in athletics, swimming, and weightlifting. Among them were freestyle swimmer Giordan Harris, the lone returning Olympian from

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, and weightlifter Mathlynn Sasser (women's 58 kg), who led the contingent as the Marshall Islands flag bearer in the opening ceremony. The Marshall Islands made their Olympic debut in weightlifting and had one of their largest Olympic delegations, matching their size in 2008. The delegation, however, failed to win their first-ever Olympic medal.

History

The Marshall Islands are a Micronesian island nation, located in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

midway between

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and Australia. As of 2016 the nation had a population of approximately 53,000. The islands were under Spain's influence until their annexation by Germany in 1885. Japan occupied the Islands during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and formally annexed them as part of its interwar South Seas Mandate. The Marshall Islands were placed under

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

control in 1944. The islands granted independence in 1986 under a

Compact of Free Association The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (F ...

with the United States. The Marshall Islands created its National Olympic Committee in 2001 and gained

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) recognition at their 9 February 2006 meeting. The addition of the Marshall Islands brought the total number of IOC-recognized National Olympic Committees to 203 at the time of admission.

Athletics

The Marshall Islands received universality slots from the

International Association of Athletics Federations 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 fo ...

(IAAF) to send one male, and one female athlete, to the 2016 Summer Olympics. Richson Simeon represented the Marshall Islands in the men's 100 meter competition, and Mariana Cress represented the nation in the women's 100 meter. Both athletes failed to advance to their next rounds, with Simeon placing eighth in his heat with a time of 11:81, and Cress placing sixth with a time of 13:20.

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and the

won medals in both competitions, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

received one for the men's event. ;Track & road events

Swimming

The Marshall Islands received universality invitations 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 one male and one female swimmer to the 2016 Summer Olympics. Giordan Harris placed fifth in his heat for the men's 50 meter freestyle with a time of 25:81 and Colleen Furgeson placed first in the women's 50 meter freestyle with a time of 28:16, but both failed to advance to the next round. The United States won medals in both events, with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

receiving a medal for the men's and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

receiving medals for the women's competitions.

Weightlifting

The Marshall Islands received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission for Mathlynn Sasser to compete in the women's lightweight category (58 kg), signifying the nation's Olympic weightlifting debut. Sasser had a total score of 199, placing eleventh. The medals in the event went to athletes from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and Chinese Taipei.

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Marshall Islands, 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 ...

Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Oly Oly may refer to: * Oly, informal name for Olympia, Washington, United States * OLY (: ), postnominals granted to participants in the Olympics People with the name * Oly (born 1992), American singer-songwriter and musician * Oly Hicks (born 1968 ...