IOC code PUR Competitors 40 in 15 sports | ||
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MedalsRanked 54th GoldSilverBronzeTotal1001 | ||
Puerto Rico competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Contents
- Athletics track and field
- Boxing
- Road
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Judo
- Shooting
- Swimming
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Womens tournament
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
- References
The Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico de Puerto Rico, COPUR) sent a team of 40 athletes, 13 men and 27 women, to compete in 15 sports at the Games. The nation's full roster in Rio de Janeiro was roughly 15 athletes larger than those who attended the London Games four years earlier, and also featured more female participants than males for the first time in Olympic history. Among the sports represented by the nation's athletes, Puerto Rico marked its Olympic debut in table tennis, triathlon, and women's indoor volleyball, as well as its return to taekwondo after 8 years, diving, equestrian, and tennis after 12 years, and road cycling after two decades.
Of the 40 participants, twenty-nine of them made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, including table tennis players Brian Afanador and 15-year-old Adriana Diaz, tennis player Mónica Puig, and New York-based taekwondo fighter Crystal Weekes. Meanwhile, eleven Puerto Rican athletes had past Olympic experience, highlighted by swimmer Vanessa García, who became the first woman from her country to compete in four Olympic Games; track star Javier Culson, who captured the bronze medal in the men's 400 m hurdles four years earlier in London; and freestyle wrestler Jaime Espinal (men's 86 kg), who pocketed his country's first silver in nearly three decades. The most successful athlete of the previous Games, Espinal was selected to lead his delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.
Puerto Rico left Rio de Janeiro with a surprisingly historic gold-medal triumph from the unseeded Puig, who became the nation's first ever Olympic champion by defeating Germany's Angelique Kerber in the women's singles, as well as its first female medalist in any sport. Meanwhile, two Puerto Rican athletes fell short to join with Puig on the podium, including platform diver Rafael Quintero, who rounded out his maiden Games with a seventh-place finish, and Culson, who was disqualified in the men's 400 m hurdles final due to a false start.
Athletics (track and field)
Puerto Rican athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
Boxing
Puerto Rico has entered one boxer to compete in the men's flyweight division into the Olympic boxing tournament. 2012 Olympian Jeyvier Cintrón had claimed his Olympic spot by finishing among the top two boxers in the World Series of Boxing.
Road
Puerto Rico has been invited by the International Cycling Union to enter one rider in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of his overall individual ranking in the 2015 UCI America Tour, and by occupying one of the four unused berths from the 2015 UCI World Tour, signifying the nation's return to the sport for the first time since 1996.
Diving
Puerto Rico has entered one diver into the Olympic competition by virtue of a top 18 finish at the 2016 FINA World Cup series.
Equestrian
Puerto Rico has entered one eventing rider into the Olympic equestrian competition by virtue of a top two finish from a combined group of North, Central, & South America in the individual FEI Olympic rankings. This signified the nation's Olympic return to the sport of equestrian for the first time since 2004.
Judo
Puerto Rico has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. London 2012 Olympian Melissa Mojica was ranked among the top 14 eligible judokas for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while María Pérez at women's middleweight (70 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the Pan American region, as the highest-ranked Puerto Rican judoka outside of direct qualifying position.
Shooting
Puerto Rico has qualified one shooter to compete in the women's rifle events by virtue of her best finish at the 2015 Pan American Games, as long as she obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016.
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)
Swimming
Puerto Rican 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
Puerto Rico has entered two athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games. Brian Afanador and 15-year-old Adriana Diaz secured their Olympic spots in the men's and women's singles, respectively by virtue of their top six finish at the 2016 Latin American Qualification Tournament in Santiago, Chile.
Taekwondo
Puerto Rico entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics for the first time since 2008. Crystal Weekes secured a spot in the women's heavyweight category (+67 kg) by virtue of her top two finish at the 2016 Pan American Qualification Tournament in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Tennis
Puerto Rico has entered one tennis player into the Olympic tournament, signifying the nation's comeback to the sport for the first time since 2004. Mónica Puig (world no. 43) qualified directly for the women's singles as one of the top 56 eligible players in the WTA World Rankings as of June 6, 2016.
Triathlon
Puerto Rico has received a spare berth freed up by one of the Germans to send London 2012 Olympian Manuel Huerta to the men's Olympic triathlon as the next highest-ranked individual, not yet qualified, in the ITU Olympic Qualification List as of May 15, 2016, signifying the nation's debut in the sport.
Women's tournament
Puerto Rico women's volleyball team qualified for the Olympics by scoring a first-place triumph and securing a lone outright berth at the final meet of the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan.
The following is the Puerto Rican roster in the women's volleyball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics. ‹See Tfd›
Head coach: Juan Carlos Núñez
Weightlifting
Puerto Rico has qualified one female weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top four national finish at the 2016 Pan American Championships. The team must allocate this place by June 20, 2016.
Wrestling
Puerto Rico has qualified two wrestlers for each of the following weight classes into the Olympic competition, as a result of their semifinal triumphs at the 2016 Pan American Qualification Tournament.
Key: