Equatorial Guinea at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Equatorial Guinea participated in nine Summer Games between its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[1] The highest number of athletes sent by Equatorial Guinea to a Summer Games is seven to the 1992 Olympics.[1] No Equatoguinean athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympic Games.[1] Equatorial Guinea participated in the Rio Summer Games from 5 to 21 August 2016. The Equatoguinean National Olympic Committee (NOC) selected two athletes via wildcards. Usually, an NOC would be able to enter up to three qualified athletes in each individual event as long as each athlete met the "A" standard, or one athlete per event if they met the "B" standard. However, since Equatorial Guinea had no athletes that met either standard, they were allowed to select two athletes, one of each gender, as wildcards.[2]

The two athletes that were selected to compete in the Rio Games were Benjamín Enzema in the men's 800 metres and Reïna-Flor Okori in the women's 100 metre hurdles.[3] Equatorial Guinea was one of several countries who sent a delegation of two athletes in 2016, with only Tuvalu sending a single competitor.[3] Meanwhile, the number of competitors of Equatoguinean descent representing other nations was even higher than the Equatoguinean itself – they were three, all of them with Spain: judoka María Bernabéu,[4] handball player Marta Mangué[5] and athlete Aauri Bokesa.[6] Along with the two athletes, the country's delegation was led by the vice-president of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.[7] The country's Olympic women's football team failed to qualify for the Games after being defeated by South Africa on aggregate in a two-leg playoff match in October 2015.[8] Okori was selected as the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies.[9][10]

The Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, where Enzema competed in track and field events.

Benjamin Enzema was the sole male athlete representing Equatorial Guinea at the Rio Games at age 27. He had previously competed at the 2012 Summer Games.[3] Enzema qualified for the Games via a wildcard as his fastest time of one minute and 53.35 seconds, set at the 2015 African Games, was 7.55 seconds slower than the qualifying standard for his event, the men's 800 metres.[11][12] He was drawn in the third heat on 12 August, finishing eighth out of nine athletes, with a time of one minute and 52.14 seconds. Enzema ranked ahead of final-placed finisher Alex Beddoes of the Cook Islands (one minute and 52.76 seconds) but behind Brazil's Lutimar Paes (one minute and 48.38 seconds) in a heat led by eventual gold medallist David Rudisha from Kenya (one minute and 45.09 seconds).[13] Overall, he finished 50th out of 54 runners,[lower-alpha 1] and was unable to advance to the later rounds because he finished 7.15 seconds slower than the slowest competitor in his heat who progressed to the second round.[13]

Reïna-Flor Okori, at age 36, was the only Equatoguinean female competitor. She had previously competed at the previous three Summer Games but with the French Olympic team.[14] She was notable for being the flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies.[9][10] Okori qualified for the Games via a wildcard because she had not recorded a qualifying standard time for her event, the women's 100 metres hurdles.[2][14] She spent time training in Equatorial Guinea and France preparing for the Games.[14][15] In an interview before the Games Okori said she aimed to reach the final stage of her event and earn Equatorial Guinea's first Olympic gold medal.[15] She was due to compete in the contest's sixth heat on 16 August alongside seven other participants but was unable to start the event because of a ruptured popliteal cyst.[16][17]

Track & road events

• [GEQ/summer/2016/ Equatorial Guinea at the 2016 Summer Olympics] at SR/Olympics