| Sierra Leone at the 2012 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | SLE |
| NOC | National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone |
| Website | www |
| inLondon | |
| Competitors | 2 in 1 sport |
| Flag bearers | Ola Sesay (opening) Ibrahim Turay (closing) |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Sierra Leone competed at the2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This marked the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in the1968 Summer Olympics. The Sierra Leone delegation included two track and field athletes;Ibrahim Turay, a sprinter andOla Sesay, a long jumper. Sesay and Turay were selected asflag bearers for theopening andclosing ceremonies respectively. Neither of the two athletes progressed beyond the first round.
Sierra Leone participated in ten Summer Olympic games between its debut in the 1968 Summer Olympics inMexico City, Mexico and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,[1] with the exception of the1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and the1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the latter because of a boycott relating to theNew Zealand national rugby union team touringSouth Africa.[2] The highest number of Sierra Leonean athletes participating in a summer games is fourteen[1] in the1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia and the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta, USA.[3][4] As of 2015[update], no Sierra Leonean athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympics.[1] Two athletes from Sierra Leone qualified for the London games; Ibrahim Turay in the track and field200 m and Ola Sesay in thelong jump.[5] They both qualified after meeting the "A" and "B" qualifying standards for their events respectively.[6] Sesay and Turay were flag bearers for the opening and closing ceremonies respectively.[7]
The 2012 Summer Games marked Ibrahim Turay's Olympic debut.[8] He qualified for the200 metres after posting a time of 22.54 seconds in the2010 Commonwealth Games Men's 200 metres, 0.01 seconds faster than the "A" qualifying standard.[6][9] He competed on 7 August in heat two, finishing last out of eight athletes, despite achieving a personal best time of 21.90 seconds.[10] He ranked behindChile'sCristián Reyes (21.29 seconds), in a heat led by France'sChristophe Lemaitre (20.34. seconds). Overall he finished 51st out of 55 athletes,[a] and was 1.18 seconds slower than the slowest athlete that progressed to the final round and, therefore, that was the end of his competition.[11]
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Competing at her first Olympics,[12] Ola Sesay was notable for carrying the Sierra Leone flag for the opening ceremony.[7] She qualified for the Olympics after meeting the "B" qualifying standard in thelong jump.[6][13] She competed on 7 August in Group A, and finished joint 11th out of 16 athletes withPhilippines'Marestella Torres, both of whom posting a jump of 6.22 metres.[14] She ranked ahead ofUkraine's Marharyta Tverdohlib (6.19 metres) in a group led by Great Britain'sShara Proctor (6.83 metres). Sesay finished 23rd out of 32 athletes overall,[b] and was 0.18 metres behind a qualification spot, therefore not advancing to the final.[15]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Ibrahim Turay | 200 m | 21.90 | 8 | Did not advance | |||
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Position | Distance | Position | ||
| Ola Sesay | Long jump | 6.22 | 23 | Did not advance | |
