| Maldives at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | MDV |
| NOC | Maldives Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| inRio de Janeiro | |
| Competitors | 4 in 2 sports |
| Flag bearer | Aminath Shajan |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
TheMaldives competed at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The delegation included two track and field athletes: Hassan Saaid andAfa Ismail, as well as swimmers Ibrahim Nishwan andAminath Shajan. Both Shajan and Ismail were returning competitors from the2012 London Olympics, with the former leading the Maldivian squad as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony. The Maldives, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
The Maldives participated in eightSummer Olympics between its debut in the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul,South Korea, and the 2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro,Brazil. The highest number of Maldivians participating at any single Summer Games was seven at the1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea and the1992 Games inBarcelona,Spain.[1] No Maldivian has ever won a medal at the Olympics. All of Maldivian participants competed at the Games through universality slots from theInternational Association of Athletics Federations andFINA.[2][3] Shajan was chosen to be The Maldives's flag bearer during theparade of nations of the opening ceremony while Ismail bore the flag during the closing ceremony.[4][5]
The Maldives received universality slots fromIAAF to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[3][6][7] Thesprinters Afa Ismail and Hassan Saaid participated in the Games, with the former in the women's 200 metres and the latter in the men's 100 metres. This marked Saaid's debut in the Olympics, even though he has represented his country at the2010 and2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as the2010 and2014 Asian Games. The Games were Ismail's second time in the Olympics because of her participation in the2012 London Olympics.[8] Ismail finished 8th in her heat with a time of 24.96 seconds, attaining a national record but failing to qualify for the semifinals.[9][10] Saaid achieved a time of 10.43 seconds in his heat, ranking first place and advancing to the quarterfinals. However, Saaid failed to qualify for the semifinals due to coming eighth with a time of 10.47 seconds in the quarterfinals. He could not beat his national record of 10.33 seconds.[11]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Hassan Saaid | Men's 100 m | 10.43 | 1Q[11] | 10.47 | 8[11] | did not advance | |||
| Afa Ismail | Women's 200 m | 24.96NR | 8[9] | — | did not advance | ||||
The Maldives received a universality invitation fromFINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[2][12][13] Competitor Ibrahim Nishwan made his debut while Aminath Shajan made her second appearance, with the first being in thewomen's 50 metre freestyle event of the London Olympics, in which she did not qualify for the semifinals.[14][15] Nishwan participated in themen's 200 metre individual medley event of the2014 Asian Games, but was disqualified following an illegal turn.[16] Shajan has previously won bronze at the women's 800m freestyle event of the2016 South Asian Games with a time of 10:41.41.[17] The duo did not train in the conditions other athletes did. In an interview, Shajan said they "train in the sea" and that "sometimes jellyfish bite [them]."[18] Nishwan started in the fourth lane. He came third in his heat and ranked 71st total, being 55 positions shy of qualification with a time of 26.72 seconds.[19][20] Shajan started in the first lane and finished last (excludingFederica Pellegrini andMichelle Coleman who did not start) with a time of 1:05.71 minutes.[21]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Ibrahim Nishwan | Men's 50 m freestyle | 26.72[19] | 71[20] | Did not advance | |||
| Aminath Shajan | Women's 100 m freestyle | 1:05.71[21] | 46[22] | Did not advance | |||
