| Kiribati at the 2024 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | KIR |
| NOC | Kiribati National Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| inParis, France 26 July 2024 (2024-07-26) – 11 August 2024 (2024-08-11) | |
| Competitors | 3 (2 men and 1 woman) in 3 sports |
| Flag bearers (opening) | Kaimauri Erati &Nera Tiebwa |
| Flag bearer (closing) | Kaimauri Erati |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Kiribati competed at the2024 Summer Olympics inParis, France, which were held from 26 July to 11 August 2024. The country's participation in Paris marked its sixth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in2004. The athlete delegation of the country was composed of three people:Kaimuri Erati in weightlifting,Kenaz Kaniwete in athletics, andNera Tiebwa in judo. Erati and Tiebwa were the flagbearers for the nation at theopening ceremony while Erati was the flagbearer at theclosing ceremony. The delegation was supported by a collaboration between theAustralian Government and theAustralian Olympic Committee, which was made for the development of sport in Pacific nations.
Erati and Kaniwete qualified after receiving universality slots, while Tiebwa qualified after being one of the two highest ranked Oceanian judokas during the qualification period. Tiebwa competed first for the nation, competing in thewomen's 57 kg event but did not progress further after being defeated in the Round of 32. Then, Kaniwete competed in themen's 100 metres, running a personal best time in the preliminaries but did not advance further. Finally, Erati competed in themen's 61 kg event and placed seventh, the highest Olympic placement by anI-Kiribati athlete. Thus, Kiribati has yet to win an Olympic medal.
The games were held from 26 July to 11 August 2024, in the city ofParis, France.[1] This edition of the games marked the nation's sixth appearance at theSummer Olympics since its debut at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens, Greece. The nation had never won a medal at the Olympics, with its best performance coming from weightlifterDavid Katoatau placing ninthmen's 94 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics inLondon, Great Britain.[2]
In the lead-up to the games, theAustralian Government announced a collaboration with theAustralian Olympic Committee to assist over 230 athletes from 13 Pacific nations[a] for the 2024 Summer Olympics and2024 Summer Paralympics, which included Kiribati. The collaboration was made to create opportunities for said nations to compete in international competition, gain access to coaching, and to developsports diplomacy. On 28 February 2024, theAustralian High Commission in Kiribati collaborated with theKiribati National Olympic Committee and theMinistry of Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs of Kiribati to announce support for 10 athletes with their training and for them to get the chance to compete in international competitions.[3][4]
The Kiribati delegation came in 98th out of the 205National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the2024 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations within the opening ceremony. Erati and Tiebwaheld the flag for the delegation.[5] At theclosing ceremony, Erati held the flag.[6]
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Judo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Weightlifting | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Kiribati was eligible for a universality slot to send an athletics competitor to the games, which allows an NOC to send athletes despite not meeting the standard qualification criteria.[7] Kiribati sent sprinterKenaz Kaniwete, who would compete in themen's 100 metres. The lead-up to the games saw Kaniwete compete at the2023 Pacific Games inHoniara, Solomon Islands, where he made his debut and ran a personal best time of 23.49 seconds in the 200 metres, and the2024 Oceania U18 Athletics Championships inSuva, Fiji, where he ran his personal best time of 11.35 seconds in the 100 metres. Before going to Paris, he was interviewed byUNICEF, where he stated his passion comes from representing his country at different competitions. He also desired for his peers to continue training to have the chance to represent the country at a future Summer Olympics. He trained inTarawa before the games.[8][9]
Making his debut at an Olympic Games at sixteen years old, Kaniwete was the youngest competitor across theathletics events at the games.[9] His event was held on 3 August at 10:42 a.m. at theStade de France, where he raced in the second preliminary round heat against seven other competitors. He finished with a time of 11.29 seconds, placed fifth in the round but did not progress further. Despite not progressing, he set a new personal best and a national under-18 record in the event.[9][10][11]Noah Lyles of theUnited States eventually won the gold in a time of 9.784 seconds.[12]
Track events
| Athlete | Event | Preliminary | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Kenaz Kaniwete | Men's 100 m | 11.29PB | 5 | Did not advance | |||||
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Kiribati sent one female judoka to the games based on the International Judo Federation Olympics Individual Ranking.[13] The nation selected judokaNera Tiebwa, who scored only 10 points in the qualification period yet qualified as the second-highest ranked eligible Oceanian athlete. The lead-up to the games saw Tiebwa compete at the2024 Judo Grand Slam Dushanbe inDushanbe, Tajikistan, where she earned the 10 points.[14]
Making her debut at an Olympic Games at fifteen years old, Tiebwa was the youngest judoka that competed at the games.[15] She competed in her event on 29 July, which was held in theGrand Palais Éphémère inChamp de Mars. In her first match, she faced2018 world championDaria Bilodid ofUkraine in the Round of 32. Tiebwa was defeated in six seconds byippon withŌuchi gari, and did not advance. The eventual winner of the event wasChrista Deguchi ofCanada.[16] After Tiebwa competed in her event, she thanked her family, coach, and supporters.[17][18]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final /BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | ||
| Nera Tiebwa | Women's –57 kg |  Bilodid (UKR)L 00–10 | Did not advance | |||||
Kiribati was eligible for a universality slot to send a weightlifter to the games.[7] The nation selectedKaimauri Erati, who would compete in themen's 61 kg category.[19] The lead-up to the games saw him compete at the 2023 Pacific Games, which doubled as the2023 Oceania Weightlifting Championships, where he won three bronzes in both competitions. He also made hisWorld Weightlifting Championships debut after competing at the2023 World Weightlifting Championships inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, placing 18th.[20] He trained at a training camp inDivonne-les-Bains provided by Olympic Solidarity, with Erati praising the organization, the camp's facilities, and the help he received for his result at the games.[21]
Making his Olympic debut, Erati competed in his event on 7 August 2024 at 3:00 p.m., which was held in theParis Expo Porte de Versailles.[20] He was accompanied by his coach, Bwamatang Ioane.[‡ 1] He lifted 95 kilograms for his first attempt in thesnatch then attempted 100 kilograms for his second but failed, ultimately lifting the same declared weight on his third attempt. He then failed his openingclean and jerked of 120 kilograms then succeeded at the same weight for his second, though failed at his last attempt at 124 kilograms, finishing with a total of 220 kilograms. He finished seventh, the highest position for an I-Kiribati athlete at any edition of the games. The winner of the event wasLi Fabin ofChina, who won with a total of 310 kilograms.[22] After Erati competed in his event, he commented his desires for younger athletes in Kiribati to compete in the sport.[23]
| Athlete | Event | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Total | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||||
| Kaimauri Erati | Men's 61 kg | 100 | 8 | 120 | 7 | 220 | 7 |
In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):