Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twelfth appearance at the Summer Olympics, with the exception of the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, because of its partial support to the United States-led boycott. The

Barbados Olympic Association Barbados Olympic Association, founded in 1962, is the National Olympic Committee for Barbados. The body is also responsible for Barbados' representation at the Commonwealth Games. History Formed after the dissolution of the West Indies Federatio ...

registered a total of 12 athletes, 7 men and 5 women, to compete in five different sports at these Games, doubling the nation's roster size from London 2012. Among the sports played by the athletes, Barbados marked its Olympic debut in tennis and triathlon, and the return of females to the team for the first time after sending only men to the previous Games. The Barbadian team featured only two returning Olympians; skeet shooter Michael Maskell, who staged a comeback in Rio for his fifth Olympic appearance as the most experienced member after a twelve-year absence, and sprinter

Ramon Gittens Ramon Gittens (born July 20, 1987) is a Barbadian sprinter. He represented his country at the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as four outdoor World Championships in Athletics. He was the 100 meters silver medalist at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ...

, who became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Barbados, however, failed to win a single Olympic medal since the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, where sprinter

Obadele Thompson Obadele "Oba" Thompson Order of Barbados, BSS (born 30 March 1976) is a Barbados-born former sprinter, lawyer, author, and speaker. He won Barbados's first and only Olympic medal as an independent country by placing third in the 100 metres at the ...

took the bronze in the men's 100 metres.

Athletics (track and field)

Barbadian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Women's heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

Shooting

Barbados has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Michael Maskell, who will compete at his fifth Olympics, in the men's skeet, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was met by 31 March 2016. This also signified the nation's comeback to the sport for the first time since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Swimming

Barbados has received a Universality invitation from

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.

Tennis

Barbados has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send

Darian King Darian King (born 26 April 1992 in Bridgetown) is a Barbadian tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 106 achieved on 8 May 2017, and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 1 ...

(world no. 278) in the men's singles into the Olympic tennis tournament, signifying the nation's debut in the sport.

Triathlon

Barbados has entered one triathlete to compete at the Games, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport. Jason Wilson was ranked among the top 40 eligible triathletes in the men's event based on the ITU Olympic Qualification List as of 15 May 2016.

References

External links

* {{Country at games navbox, Barbados, Summer Olympics Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...