| Ghana at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | GHA |
| NOC | Ghana Olympic Committee |
| inRio de Janeiro | |
| Competitors | 14 in 5 sports |
| Flag bearer | Flings Owusu-Agyapong[1] |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Ghana competed at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, having taken part in all but three editions since its debut (as theGold Coast) at the1952 Summer Olympics. Ghana did not attend the1976 Olympics because of theAfrican boycott and did not attend the1980 Olympics because of theUnited States boycott.
Ghana Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since2004. A total of 14 athletes, seven per gender, were selected to the team for five different sports.[2] Among the sports represented by the athletes, Ghana marked its Olympic debut in swimming, women's judo, and men's weightlifting.
Notable Ghanaian athletes on the squad were Hungarian-born judokaSzandra Szögedi, and freestyle swimmerKaya Forson, who established a record as the youngest ever competitor (aged 14) in the nation's Olympic history.[3] Javelin throwerJohn Ampomah was named the captain of the Ghanaian team, with track sprinterFlings Owusu-Agyapong leading the contingent as the nation's flag bearer in theopening ceremony.[1][4]
Ghana, however, failed to earn a single medal in Rio de Janeiro, continuing a drought that began at the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where the men's football team earned the bronze.
Ghanaian athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):[5][6]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Sean Safo-Antwi | 100 m | Bye | 10.43 | 6 | Did not advance | ||||
| Emmanuel Dasor | 200 m | 20.65 | 6 | — | Did not advance | ||||
| Alex Amankwah | 800 m | 1:50.33 | 7 | — | Did not advance | ||||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Flings Owusu-Agyapong | 100 m | Bye | 11.43 | 4 | Did not advance | ||||
| Janet Amponsah | 200 m | 23.67 | 6 | — | Did not advance | ||||
| Gemma Acheampong Janet Amponsah Beatrice Gyaman Dorcas Gyimah Flings Owusu-Agyapong | 4 × 100 m relay | 43.37 | 8 | — | Did not advance | ||||
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Position | Distance | Position | ||
| John Ampomah | Men's javelin throw | 80.39 | 19 | Did not advance | |
Ghana entered one boxer to compete in the men's bantamweight division into the Olympic competition. Abdul Omar received an unused Olympic spot as the next highest-ranked boxer at the2016 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament, as runner-up Mohamed Hamout of Morocco decided to accept his place instead in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) rankings.[7]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | ||
| Abdul Omar | Men's bantamweight |  Melián (ARG)L 0–3 | Did not advance | ||||
Ghana qualified one judoka for the women's half-middleweight category (63 kg) at the Games. Hungarian-born Szandra Szögedi earned a continental quota spot from the African region as Ghana's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.[8][9]
| 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 | ||
| Szandra Szögedi | Women's −63 kg |  M Silva (BRA)L 000–100 | Did not advance | |||||
Ghana received a Universality invitation fromFINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.[10][11][12]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Abeiku Jackson | Men's 50 m freestyle | 24.30 | 55 | Did not advance | |||
| Kaya Forson | Women's 200 m freestyle | 2:16.02 | 42 | Did not advance | |||
Ghana qualified one male weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top five national finish at the2016 African Championships.[13] The team allocated this place to 17-year-oldChristian Amoah.[14]
| Athlete | Event | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Total | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||||
| Christian Amoah | Men's −85 kg | 130 | 18 | 153 | 21 | 283 | 21 |
Media related toGhana at the 2016 Summer Olympics at Wikimedia Commons
