São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

from 8–24 August 2008. This marked the country's fourth entry in the Olympics, since its debut in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States. The country's delegation consisted of three competitors, competing in two disciplines: they were athletics competitors Naiel Santiago D'Almeida and Celma Bonfim da Graça, and canoeist

Alcino Silva Alcino Gomes da Silva, often known as Alcino Silva (born September 30, 1990), is a canoe racing, sprint canoer from São Tomé and Príncipe who competed in the late 2000s. Silva represented his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where ...

. None of the competitors made it to their event final, though Silva did advance to the semi-finals.

Background

São Tomé and Príncipe participated in every Summer Olympic Games between its debut in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and the 2008 Summer Olympics in

. In Beijing, the nation was making its fourth appearance at the Olympics, having never competed in a

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

. With three competitors, this was the most participants ever sent to an Olympics by São Tomé and Príncipe. The country had never won a medal in Olympic competition. Long-distance runner Celma Bonfim da Graça was selected as the flagbearer for the

parade of nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. An unknown assistant of the National Olympic Committee carried the flag in the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Athletics

Naiel Santiago D'Almeida was 21 years old at the time of the 2008 Olympics, and competing in his first Olympics. On 18 August 2008, he took part in the heats of the Men's 400 meters race. He was drawn into the 7th and final heat of the race, a race he finished in 49.08 seconds. This was last in his heat, and the second slowest time of all the competitors. As such, he failed to advance to the semi-finals. Long-distance runner Celma Bonfim da Graça, who was making her Olympic debut, was 30 years old at the time, making her São Tomé and Príncipe's oldest competitor at these Games. At the time, she was the country's oldest Olympian ever, a record she would herself beat 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 ...

. On 19 August 2008 she took part in the first heat of the women's 5,000 metres, a heat she finished in 17 minutes and 25.99 seconds. This was in 16th and last place of that race, and she did not qualify for the final.

Men

Women

*Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only

Key

*NR = National record

Canoeing

Sprint canoeist

was 17 years old at the time of the competition. On 18 August 2008 he took part in the Men's K-1 1,000 metres, he was drawn into in the second of three heats. He finished the race with a time of 4 minutes and 28.05, ninth and last in his heat. Only the top 7 of each heat were able to advance in the competition. The next day he took part in the heats of the Men's K-1 500 metres competition. He was placed into the third of four heats, and finished his heat in 6th (out of 7 competitors), with a time of 1 minute and 58 seconds. Being in the top 6 of his heat, Alcino advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, held on 21 August, he was drawn into heat three. This time, only the top three from each semi-final would be allowed to advance to the final. He finished 9th and last in his heat with a time of 2 minutes and 6 seconds, and was eliminated.

Key

*Note–Ranks given are within the athlete's heat only

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Tome And Principe At The 2008 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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 ...