The

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

sent a delegation to compete at 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 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 from 19 July to 4 August 1996. This was the nation's fourth appearance at a Summer Olympic Games. The delegation to Atlanta consisted of four athletes, three in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

Selwyn Kole Selwyn Kole Mawetaral (born 26 December 1973) is a retired middle distance athlete from the Solomon Islands. Kole represented the Solomon Islands team that compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics which was held in Atlanta. He entered the 1500 metres, ...

Primo Higa Primo Higa (born 11 March 1973) is a retired middle distance athlete from the Solomon Islands. Higa represented the Solomon Islands in two Olympics, in the 1996 Summer Olympics which was held in Atlanta he didn't finish the 3000 metres steeplechas ...

, and Nester Geniwala'a; and one in

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

: Tony Analau. None of the athletes made their event final.

Background

The National Olympic Committee of Solomon Islands was recognized by the

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 ...

on 31 December 1982. Having participated in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, and

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 ...

, the Atlanta Olympics were their fourth appearance in Olympic competition. The 1996 Summer Olympics were held from 19 July to 4 August 1996; 10,318 athletes represented 194

National Olympic Committees A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Gam ...

. The Solomon Islands' delegation to Atlanta consisted of four athletes, three in

, and Nester Geniwala'a; and one in weightlifting: Tony Analau.

Athletics

Selwyn Kole was 22 years old at the time of the Atlanta Olympics, and was making his Olympic debut. In the first round of the men's 1500 meters, held on 29 July, he was drawn into heat five. He finished in a time of 4 minutes and 3.44 seconds, 12th and last in his heat, and insufficient to advance to the next round. Primo Higa was 23 years old at the time. On 29 July, in the first round of the men's 3000 meters steeplechase he failed to finish the race and was eliminated from the competition. Higa would return four years later to represent the Solomon Islands at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Nester Geniwala'a was 19 years of age at the time, and making her Olympic debut. In the first round of the women's 100 meters on 26 July, she was drawn into heat six. She finished the heat in 13.74 seconds, eighth in her heat. Only the top four from each heat plus to next four overall fastest could advance, and she was eliminated.

Weightlifting

Tony Analau was 27 years old at the time of the Atlanta Olympics, and was making his Olympic debut. He competed in the men's under 64 kilograms category on 22 July. In the snatch he failed all three attempts to lift 80 kilograms, and was eliminated from the competition.

References

{{NOCin1996SummerOlympics Nations at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1996 1996 in Solomon Islands sport