Tunisia at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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Tunisia 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. Since the nation's official debut in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
, Tunisian athletes have appeared in every edition of the
Summer Olympic Games 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 ...
, except the
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in Moscow because of the nation's partial support for the US-led boycott. The Tunisian Olympic Committee (french: Comité National Olympique Tunisien, CNOT) fielded a team of 61 athletes, 40 men and 21 women, to compete in 17 sports at the Games. It was the nation's second-largest delegation sent to the Olympics, relatively smaller by 22 athletes than in London four years earlier. Men's handball was the only team-based sport in which Tunisia qualified for the Games. Among the sports represented by the nation's athletes, Tunisia made its Olympic debut in beach volleyball, as well as returning to table tennis after a twelve-year absence. The Tunisian roster was highlighted by two accomplished Olympians from London 2012: long-distance swimmer
Oussama Mellouli Oussama "Ous" Mellouli ( ar, أسامة الملولي; born 16 February 1984) is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events. He is a three-time Olympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trains with the USC Tr ...
and steeplechaser
Habiba Ghribi Habiba Ghribi () (born 9 April 1984) is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. Sh ...
. At 32 years old and headed to his fifth Games, Mellouli emerged himself as Tunisia's most successful Olympian of all time, with three medals (two golds and one bronze), and the first swimmer to dominate at both the pool and open water in Olympic history. Because of his successes, Mellouli was selected to carry the nation's flag at the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, Ghribi, a three-time Olympian, established a historic milestone for her country in London, when she became the first Tunisian woman to earn an Olympic medal. Apart from Mellouli and Ghribi, 18 Tunisian athletes previously competed in London, including fencing sisters Azza and
Sarra Besbes Sarra Besbes ( ar, سارة بسباس; born 5 February 1989) is a Tunisian épée fencer, seven-time gold medallist at the African Fencing Championships. She represented Tunisia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, placing eighth, and at the 2 ...
, tennis players
Malek Jaziri Malek Jaziri ( ar, مالك الجزيري, Mālik al-Jazīrī; born January 20, 1984) is a Tunisian professional tennis player. Jaziri reached his highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour of World 42 in January 2019. He reached the final of 2 ...
and Ons Jabeur, three-time Olympic judoka Nihal Chikhrouhou (women's +78 kg) and
Houda Miled Houda Miled (Arabic: هدى ميلاد; born 8 February 1987 in Kairouan, Tunisia) is Tunisian judoka. She represented her country in two Summer Olympics: in 2008 in the 78 kg event (where she lost her first match to Stéphanie Possamaï) ...
(women's 70 kg), race walker
Hassanine Sebei Hassanine Sebei, ar, حسنين السباعي, (born 21 January 1984 in Tajerouine) is a Tunisian racewalker who specialises in the 20 kilometres race walk. He was the 2010 African champion and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 ...
, and freestyle wrestler
Marwa Amri Marwa Al-Amri ( ar, مروى العامري, born 8 January 1989) is a Tunisian freestyle wrestler. She was born in Tunis. She represented Tunisia in the women's lightweight freestyle competition at the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. ...
. Tunisia returned home from Rio de Janeiro with three bronze medals; each of them was awarded to the Tunisian athletes in fencing, taekwondo, and wrestling, respectively, for the first time. Moreover, it matched the overall tally achieved in London four years earlier. Among the medalists were Amri (women's 58 kg), three-time Olympic fencer
Inès Boubakri Inès Boubakri ( ar, إيناس بوبكري; born 28 December 1988) is a Tunisian foil fencer. She is a four-time Olympian, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and is a member of Association sportive de Bourg-la-Reine in France, ...
(women's foil), and taekwondo fighter Oussama Oueslati (men's 80 kg).


Medalists


Athletics (track and field)

Tunisian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): Seven athletes were named to Tunisia's track and field team for the Games, with
Habiba Ghribi Habiba Ghribi () (born 9 April 1984) is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. Sh ...
looking to defend her Olympic title in the women's 3000 m steeplechase. ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women


Boxing

Tunisia has entered two boxers to compete in each of the following weight classes into the Olympic boxing tournament. Bilel Mhamdi and Hassen Chaktami had claimed their Olympic spots at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon.


Canoeing


Sprint

Tunisia has qualified three boats for the following distances into the Olympic canoeing regatta through the 2016 African Sprint Qualifying Tournament. Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)


Cycling


Road

Tunisia has qualified one rider in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of his top 10 individual ranking in the
2015 UCI Africa Tour The 2015 UCI Africa Tour was the 11th season of the UCI Africa Tour. The season began on 14 January with the Tour d'Egypte and ended on 20 December with the GP de Youssoufia. The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, ...
.


Fencing

Tunisia has entered five fencers into the Olympic competition. Two-time Olympian
Ines Boubakri Ines or INES may refer to: People * Ines (name), a feminine given name, also written as Inés or Inês * Saint Ines or Agnes (), Roman virgin–martyr * Eda-Ines Etti (stage name: ''Ines''; born 1981), Estonian singer Places * Doña Ines, a volca ...
had claimed a spot on the Tunisian team in the women's foil by finishing among the top 14 in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings, while sisters Azza (women's sabre) and
Sarra Besbes Sarra Besbes ( ar, سارة بسباس; born 5 February 1989) is a Tunisian épée fencer, seven-time gold medallist at the African Fencing Championships. She represented Tunisia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, placing eighth, and at the 2 ...
(women's épée) and debutant Mohamed Ayoub Ferjani (men's foil) did the same feat as the highest-ranked fencer coming from the Africa zone. Ferjani's brother Farès rounded out the Tunisian roster by virtue of a top finish in the men's sabre at the African Zonal Qualifier in
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, Algeria.


Handball

;Summary


Men's tournament

Tunisia men's handball team qualified for the Olympics by virtue of a top two finish at the first meet of the Olympic Qualification Tournament in
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----


Judo

Tunisia has qualified a total of four judokas for the following weight classes at the Games. Hela Ayari, Faicel Jaballah, and two-time Olympian Nihal Chikhrouhou were ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men and top 14 for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while
Houda Miled Houda Miled (Arabic: هدى ميلاد; born 8 February 1987 in Kairouan, Tunisia) is Tunisian judoka. She represented her country in two Summer Olympics: in 2008 in the 78 kg event (where she lost her first match to Stéphanie Possamaï) ...
at women's middleweight (70 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the African region, as the highest-ranked Tunisian judoka outside of direct qualifying position.


Rowing

Tunisia has qualified one boat each in the men's single sculls and the women's lightweight double sculls for the Games at the 2015 African Continental Qualification Regatta in Tunis. Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage


Sailing

Tunisian sailors have qualified one boat in each of the following classes through the
2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships The 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, was held in Santander, Spain, this was the fourth edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. What gives this event gr ...
, the individual fleet Worlds, and African qualifying regattas. M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race


Shooting

Tunisia has qualified one shooter in the women's pistol events by virtue of her best finish at the African Continental Championships and other selection competitions, as long as she obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) as of March 31, 2016. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)


Swimming

Tunisian swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):


Table tennis

Tunisia has entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games. Saifa Saidani had claimed the Olympic spot in the women's singles by virtue of her top two finish at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Khartoum, Sudan.


Taekwondo

Tunisia entered three athletes into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics. Oussama Oueslati, Yassine Trabelsi, and Rahma Ben Ali secured the spots on the Tunisian team by virtue of their top two finish respectively in the men's welterweight (80 kg), men's heavyweight (+80 kg), and women's lightweight category (57 kg) at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Agadir, Morocco.


Tennis

Tunisia has entered two tennis players into the Olympic tournament. London 2012 Olympian
Malek Jaziri Malek Jaziri ( ar, مالك الجزيري, Mālik al-Jazīrī; born January 20, 1984) is a Tunisian professional tennis player. Jaziri reached his highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour of World 42 in January 2019. He reached the final of 2 ...
(world no. 63) qualified directly for the men's singles as one of the top 56 eligible players in the
ATP ATP may refer to: Companies and organizations * Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body * American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company * ', a Danish pension * Armenia Tree Project, non ...
World Rankings as of June 6, 2016, while Ons Jabeur (world no. 188) had claimed one of six ITF Olympic women's singles places, as Africa's top-ranked player outside of direct qualifying position in the WTA World Rankings.


Volleyball


Beach

Tunisia has qualified the men's beach volleyball team for the Olympics by winning the CAVB Continental Cup final in
Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...
, Nigeria, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.


Weightlifting

Tunisia has qualified one male and one female weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top five national finish (for men) and top four (for women), respectively, at the 2016 African Championships. The team must allocate these places to individual athletes by June 20, 2016.


Wrestling

Tunisia has qualified four wrestlers for each of the following weight classes into the Olympic competition, as a result of their semifinal triumphs at the 2016 African & Oceania Qualification Tournament. ;Men's freestyle ;Women's freestyle


References


External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Tunisia, 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 ...