Somalia at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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Somalia 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 5 to 21 August 2016. The country's participation at Rio de Janeiro marked its ninth in the Summer Olympics since its debut in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
. The delegation included two track and field athletes: sprinter Maryan Nuh Muse and long-distance runner Mohamed Daud Mohamed, who was the nation's flag bearer in the Parade of Nations. Neither athlete progressed past the first round of their respective competitions.


Background

Somalia participated in nine
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
between its debut in the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
in Munich, West Germany, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The highest number of Somalis participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, United States. No Somali has ever won a medal at an Olympics. Somalia received universality slots from the International Association of Athletics Federations to send one male and one female athlete to the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2014, the
Somali Olympic Committee The Somali Olympic Committee ( so, Guddiga Olimbikada Soomaaliyeed) is the National Olympic Committee representing Somalia. Logo Image:SomaliOlympicCommittee.jpg, Former logo See also * Somalia at the Olympics References External linksSoma ...
appointed a team of professionals to find talented Somali athletes for the upcoming Summer Olympics. Efforts were hampered by the ongoing Somali Civil War, both in access for the scouts and because athletes were fleeing the fighting.
Samia Yusuf Omar Samia Yusuf Omar or Samiyo Omar ( so, Saamiya Yuusuf Cumar; ar, سامية يوسف عمر; 25 March 1991 – April 2012) was a sprinter from Somalia. She was one of two Somali athletes who competed for their nation at the 2008 Summer Olympics ...
, who represented the national 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 ...
in Beijing, China, drowned off the Libyan coast while attempting to reach Europe by boat in 2012. Maryan Nuh Muse was chosen to compete in the women's 400 metres and Kenyan-born Mohamed Daud Mohamed in the men's 5000 metres. Other Somali nationals competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, but under the citizenships of other countries; these included Mo Farah, for Great Britain and Mohammed Ahmed, for Canada. Mohamed was chosen to be the Somalia's flag bearer during the Parade of Nations.


Athletics

Somalia was represented by one male athlete at the 2016 Games in athletics – Mohamed Daud Mohamed, a
5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...
runner. It marked his first appearance at an international athletics competition, following a transition into athletics from
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. He said prior to the Olympics, "I am improving by the day and I hope to improve on my finish time. Running is hard and all athletes aim to win. My objective is to win; but there are different ways of winning. It is not about being first, second or third. If I set a new personal record, it is a win for me". Mohamed competed on 17 August in the first heat of the 5000 metres, finishing in 24th position out of the 25 runners, only ahead of
Rosefelo Siosi Rosefelo Siosi (born 23 August 1996) is a Solomon Islands track and field athlete. At the 2016 Summer Olympics he competed in the Men's 5000 m. He finished in 48th place in a personal best time after he crossed the finish line in 15:47.76. Si ...
of the Solomon Islands, thus eliminating him from the competition. The country's sole female athlete at the 2016 Games was Maryan Nuh Muse, in the
400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...
. Muse had previously competed on behalf of Somalia at international youth athletic competitions around the world. Prior to the competition, she spoke of the difference in the quality of the training facilities in Somalia compared to those in other countries, saying "A number of countries will be participating among them Jamaica and United States; but I am hoping to shine. We don’t have the same training facilities, theirs is better than ours. I know they are determined to win but we are also equally determined." She competed in the sixth heat of the 400 metres competition on 13 August; she came in last place with a time of 1:10:14, over 18 seconds behind the heat's winner
Salwa Eid Naser Salwa Eid Naser (née Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu, born 23 May 1998) is a Nigerian-born Bahraini Sprint (running), sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She was the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, 2019 World champion with the 400 metres# ...
of Bahrain. ;Track events


References


External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Somalia, Summer Olympics Nations at the 2016 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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
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 ...