Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, Ugandan 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 ...

, 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 Phi ...

in Montreal because of its partial support of the African boycott. The

Uganda Olympic Committee The Uganda Olympic Committee (IOC code: UGA) is the National Olympic Committee representing Uganda. It was created in 1950 and officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1956. Presidents of Committee * 1950–1958 – Richa ...

fielded a team of 21 athletes, 14 men and 7 women, to compete only in athletics, boxing, and swimming at the games. It was the nation's largest delegation sent to the Olympics since

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 Australian ...

, eclipsing the record of 15 athletes who attended the London games four years earlier. About 80 percent of Uganda's full roster competed in athletics, particularly those who specialized in long-distance running and the marathon. The Ugandan roster featured six returning Olympians, although only four of them competed in London in 2012: defending marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich, swimmer

Jamila Lunkuse Jamila Lunkuse (born 1 January 1997) is a Ugandan swimmer. She competed in the women's 50m freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, finishing with a time of 28.44 seconds in 52nd place in the heats. She also represented Uganda at the R ...

, and the steeplechase tandem of

Jacob Araptany Jacob Araptany (born 11 February 1994 in Kaproron, Kween District, Uganda) is an Ugandan runner. He competed in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, reaching the final in 2016. He withdrew from the 1500 m event at the 2012 Oly ...

and

Benjamin Kiplagat Benjamin Kiplagat (4 March 1989, Magoro, Bukwo, Uganda) is a Ugandan long-distance runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distan ...

, who headed to his third games as the most experienced member. Meanwhile, Sweden-based boxers

Ronald Serugo Ronald Serugo (born 5 September 1984) is an Ugandan amateur boxer who qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the junior flyweight division. He defeated Tresford Kaziwa, then lost to Redouane Bouchtouk 0:11 before winning the third spot by defea ...

(men's flyweight) and

Kennedy Katende Kennedy Katende (born 15 March 1985) is an Ugandan boxer from Kampala who qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the light-heavyweight division. His second place behind Kenneth Egan was good enough, and he benefitted from his compatriot Badou Jack' ...

(men's light heavyweight) staged their Olympic comeback in Rio de Janeiro after eight years of absence. Other notable athletes on the Ugandan team were

Solomon Mutai Munyo Solomon Mutai (born 22 October 1992 in Bukwo) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He started his career over shorter distances and at the 2009 Ugandan Championships he placed ninth over 1500 metres and fourth in the 3000 metres ste ...

who won a bronze medal in the men's marathon at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing; 15-year-old distance runner Jacob Kiplimo (men's 5000 metres); and US-based freestyle swimmer Joshua Tibatemwa, who was the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Uganda, however, left Rio de Janeiro without a medal, in contrast to the previous Games. Distance runner

Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, a two-time 10,000 m World champion from 2019 and 2022, Wor ...

produced the most successful outcome for Uganda, finishing eighth in the men's 5,000 metres and sixth with a personal best in the men's 10,000 metres. The nation's most celebrated athlete, Kiprotich, failed to retain his marathon title, slipping to a fourteenth-place finish in Rio de Janeiro.

Athletics

Ugandan athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): A total of 17 athletes (11 men and 6 women), highlighted by defending Olympic marathon champion Kiprotich, were named as part of Uganda's official team announcement for the Games on 15 July 2016. ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women

Boxing

Uganda entered two boxers to compete in each of the following weight classes in the Olympic boxing tournament. 2008 Olympians

and

, who previously competed for Sweden, had claimed Olympic spots as a result of their box-off triumphs at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Yaoundé,

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Swimming

Uganda received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.

References

External links

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