Equatorial Guinea at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Background

Equatorial Guinea participated in eight Summer Olympic Games between its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. The highest number of athletes sent by Equatorial Guinea to a summer Games is seven to the 1992 Olympics. No Equatoguinean athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympic Games. Equatorial Guinea participated in the London Summer Olympics from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The Equatoguinean National Olympic Committee (NOC) selected two athletes via wildcards. Usually, an NOC would be able to enter up to three qualified athletes in each individual event as long as each athlete met the "A" standard, or one athlete per event if they met the "B" standard. However, since Equatorial Guinea had no athletes that met either standard, they were allowed to select two athletes, one of each gender, as wildcards.

The two athletes that were selected to compete at the London Games were Benjamín Enzema in the men's 800 metres and Bibiana Olama in the women's 100 metres hurdles. Olama was the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. The country's Olympic women's football team was disqualified from the event's qualification stage after it was discovered that they were fielding an ineligible player. The Equatorial Guinea delegation was led by the NOC president Manuel Sabino Asumu Kawan and the country's Ambassador in London, Mari-Cruz Evuna Andeme. The athletes were coached by Jose Moises Bodipo Minter, and the competitors said that despite training being difficult in Equatorial Guinea, they wanted to establish a good reputation for their country.

Athletics

Benjamin Enzema was the only male athlete representing Equatorial Guinea at the London Olympics. He had not previously competed in any previous Olympic Games. Enzema qualified for the Games via a wildcard because his best time of one minute and 56.23 seconds, set at the 2012 African Championships in Athletics, was 9.93 seconds slower than the "B" standard entry time for his event, the 800 metres. He was drawn in the event's seventh heat on 6 August, finishing seventh out of eight competitors, with a time of one minute and 57.47 seconds. Enzema ranked behind Moise Joseph of Haiti (one minute and 48.46 seconds) and finished ahead of Brazil's Kléberson Davide who was unable to start in a heat led by Duane Solomon from the United States (one minute and 46.05 seconds). Overall, he finished 49th out of 52 athletes, and did not make the semi-finals after being 11.05 seconds slower than the slowest competitor who advanced to the later stages.

Competing at her first Olympic Games, Bibiana Olama was the oldest athlete to represent Equatorial Guinea in London at the age of 29. She qualified for the London Olympics because her fastest time of 15.95 seconds, set at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics, was 2.85 seconds slower than the "B" qualifying standard for her event, the 100 metres hurdles. Olama competed in the event's sixth (and final) heat on 6 August, finishing ninth (and last) out of all runners, with a time of 16.18 seconds. Her time was her fastest of the 2012 athletic season. Olama ranked behind Jamaica's Brigitte Foster-Hylton (13.98 seconds) and Odile Ahouanwanou of Benin (14.76 seconds) in a heat led by Lolo Jones of the United States (12.68 seconds). She finished 46th (and last) out of all athletes, and did not advance to the semi-finals because her time was 3.18 seconds slower than the slowest runner in her heat who progressed to the later rounds.