Sri Lanka 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 seventeenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, with the exception of the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

in Montreal. Six of the nation's Olympic editions were previously designated as ''Ceylon''. The

National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (IOC code: SRI) is the National Olympic Committee representing Sri Lanka. It is also the body responsible for Sri Lanka's representation at the Commonwealth Games. See also *Sri Lanka at the Olympics *Sri L ...

sent a team of nine athletes, seven men and two women, to compete in six different sports at the Games, matching the nation's roster size with Atlanta two decades earlier. Three Sri Lankan athletes previously competed in London, including rifle shooter Mangala Samarakoon and badminton player Niluka Karunaratne. Meanwhile, veteran marathon runner

Anuradha Cooray Anuradha Indrajith Cooray (born March 24, 1978) is a Sri Lankan marathon runner. Cooray was a competitor at the 2004 Olympic games, finishing 30th out of 113 in the marathon with a time of 2:19:24. He won the gold medal in the marathon at the SAF ...

, who attended his third Olympics as the oldest and most experienced participant (aged 38), was selected by the committee to carry the

Sri Lankan flag The flag of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජාතික කොඩිය, translit=Śrī Laṃkāvē jāthika kodiya; ta, இலங்கையின் தேசியக்கொடி, translit=Ilankaiyin teciyakkoṭi ...

at the opening ceremony. Sri Lanka, however, did not earn any Olympic medals in Rio de Janeiro; the nation's last medal was awarded to sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, who won silver in the women's 200 metres at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney.

Athletics (track and field)

Sri Lanka qualified three athletes, two male and one female. ;Key *Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only *Q = Qualified for the next round *q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser ''or'', in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target *NR = National record *N/A = Round not applicable for the event *NM = No mark ;Track & road events ;Field events

Badminton

Sri Lanka received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send London 2012 Olympian Niluka Karunaratne in the men's singles event.

Judo

Sri Lanka received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a judoka competing in the men's lightweight category (73 kg), signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.

Shooting

Sri Lanka received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a men's rifle shooter to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was met by March 31, 2016. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Swimming

Sri Lanka received a Universality invitation 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 female swimmer, to the Olympics. Matthew Abeysinghe is also scheduled to represent the country, after meeting the B standard time at a qualification meet in July 2016. Abeysinghe was the first swimmer ever from Sri Lanka to meet the qualification standard for the Olympics.

Weightlifting

Sri Lanka received an unused quota place from IWF to send a male weightlifter, signifying the nation's return to the sport after an eight-year hiatus.

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Sri Lanka, Summer Olympics 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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...