IOC code SAM Flag bearer Mary Opeloge | Competitors 8 in 5 sports | |
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NOC Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee Inc. Website www.oceaniasport.com/samoa Medals Gold
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Samoa competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympic Games, although it had previously competed in four editions under the name Western Samoa.
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Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee Inc. (SASNOC) sent the nation's second-largest delegation to the Games, tying its record for the most number of athletes with Los Angeles 1984 and London 2012. A total of eight athletes, five men and three women, were selected to the Samoan squad across five different sports; all of them made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro. Among the sports represented by the athletes, Samoa marked its Olympic debut in swimming.
Four Samoan athletes were born and raised in the United States and New Zealand, having acquired a dual citizenship to compete for their parents' homeland at the Games. Among them were New Zealand-born flatwater kayaker Anne Cairns, discus thrower Alex Rose, sprinter Jeremy Dodson, and 18-year-old freestyle swimmer Brandon Schuster. Meanwhile, weightlifter and Commonwealth Games champion Mary Opeloge (women's 75 kg) continued the tradition of her family in carrying the Samoan flag at the opening ceremony, with her older sister Ele having had the honor in 2008 and 2012. Samoa, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
Athletics
Samoan athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
Sprint
Samoan canoeists have qualified one boat in each of the following events through the 2016 Oceania Championships.
Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)
Judo
Samoa has qualified one judoka for the men's heavyweight category (+100 kg) at the Games. Derek Sua earned a continental quota spot from the Oceania region, as the highest-ranked Samoan judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.
Swimming
Samoa has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics, signifying the nation's debut in the sport.
Weightlifting
Samoa 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 Oceania Championships. The team must allocate these places to individual athletes by June 20, 2016.