Guatemala at the 2008 Summer Olympics | |
---|---|
IOC code | GUA |
NOC | Guatemalan Olympic Committee |
Website | www |
in Beijing | |
Competitors | 12 in 9 sports |
Flag bearer | Kevin Cordón |
Medals |
|
Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Guatemala competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. In what was the country's fourteenth Summer Olympics (and fifteenth Olympics including the Winter Olympics) since its debut at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. A total of twelve athletes competed in nine sports and twelve distinct events. It was the lowest number of participants for Guatemala since the 1980 Games in Moscow, USSR. Three of the twelve athletes were taking part in their second Olympics, and one of them, race walker Luis García, participated in his fourth. In any event that involved a progression through rounds (track and field, swimming, etc.), the Guatemalan athletes did not advance past the first round; as of the Beijing Olympics, there had yet to be a Guatemalan medalist. At the opening ceremony, badminton player Kevin Cordón bore Guatemala's flag.
Guatemala is a small Central American country of about 14 million people that is situated to the south of Mexico, the west of Belize, and the northwest of El Salvador and Honduras. Initially a location that was home to the Mayan civilization, Guatemala was noted ruled by any major civilization for several centuries until it became a Spanish colony in the 1500s. After several centuries of Spanish rule, Guatemala declared its independence in 1821. For most of the late 1900s, Guatemala experienced a severe political turbulences and endured a guerrilla war that lasted 36 years. The war formally ended in 1996 with the signing of a peace treaty. [1] The first Guatemalan delegation to the Olympics appeared at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, including 21 athletes (among them, one woman) across six different sports. However, Guatemala did not return for the next three Olympic games. It returned at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City with 48 athletes, its largest delegation yet sent as of the 2012 London Olympics. Since then, Guatemala has consistently appeared at the Summer Olympics, with all delegations (excluding 1972) including over ten athletes. As of 2012, Guatemala had also competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, marking its only Winter Olympic appearance. Prior to and including the Beijing Guatemala competed at fourteen Summer Olympics (thirteen of them consecutive) and a fifteen Olympic games overall. In Olympic history, only one Guatemalan, Erick Barrondo, has won an Olympic medal. [2] That medal was in 2012 when Barrondo won the silver medal in the men's 20 kilometres walk. [3]
The 2008 Olympics delegation from Guatemala was its smallest in the Summer Olympics since its showing at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. [2] While four of its 12 athletes participated in track events, Guatemalan athletes also appeared in badminton, boxing, equestrianism, sailing, shooting, swimming, weightlifting and modern pentathlon across 12 distinct events. The youngest Guatemalan athlete in Beijing was 16 years old (Rita Sanz-Agero in modern pentathlon), while the oldest was 44 years old (Juan Romero in shooting). Three female athletes and nine male athletes competed on Guatemala's behalf. Of those, there were no medalists. [4] Badminton player Kevin Cordón carried Guatemala's flag at the opening ceremony. [2]
Alfredo Arévalo Reyes represented Guatemala at the Beijing Olympics as one of its marathon runners. Born on 20 February 1976 in Uspantán, a city in the Guatemalan highlands in the Quiché Department, Arévalo first represented Guatemala at the Olympics in the 2004 Summer Olympics of Athens, Greece at age 28. He finished in 77th place. Arévalo returned to the Olympics at age 32, again participating in the men's marathon. [5] The marathon took place on August 23, including 98 competitors. Of those competitors, 76 finished the event. Arévalo placed 63rd, completing the marathon in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 40 seconds. He placed directly ahead of Qatar's Yousf Othman Qader (two hours, 28 minutes and 26 seconds) and behind Montenegrin athlete Goran Stojiljkovic (two hours, 28 minutes and 14 seconds). In comparison, the gold medalist, Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, who broke the Olympic record, finished the event in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 32 seconds, while last-place finalist Atsushi Sato of Japan finished in 2 hours, 41 minutes and 8 seconds. [6] Arévalo was 21 minutes and 54 seconds behind Kamau. [6]
José Amado García Gabriel also competed for Guatemala at the Beijing Olympics, and represented the nation in the men's marathon as well. García was born on 13 September 1977 in San Jerónimo, a small town in central Guatemala's highlands within the Baja Verapaz Department.His first in the Olympics was the Athens Olympics of 2004, when he was 26 years old at the time of his participation. [7] He returned to participate in the event again at age 30 in the 2008 Olympics. [7] He competed in the event on August 23 alongside 97 other athletes (of which 75 finished). García placed 35th after finishing the event in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 15 seconds. García placed directly ahead of Eritrea's Yonas Kifle (two hours, 20 minutes and 23 seconds) and directly behind Poland's Henryk Szost (two hours, 19 minutes and 43 seconds). He was 19 minutes and 49 seconds behind the gold medalist Kamau. [6] García finished approximately eight minutes ahead of Arévalo. [6]
Luis Fernando García Bechinie competed on Guatemala's behalf at the Beijing Olympics, competing the men's 50 kilometers walk. Born on 13 September 1974 in Amatitlán, a town within the vicinity of the national capital Guatemala City, García has represented Guatemala in competitive racewalking since age 21, when he competed in the men's 20 kilometers race walk in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics. He returned during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, participating in the same event, and later participated in the men's 50 meters race walk while at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece at 29 years old. Luis García participated in the men's 50 meters race walk as a 33-year-old at the Beijing Olympics. [8] During the August 21 event, García participated alongside 60 other athletes. Of those 60, 46 of them finished the event. García ranked 22nd, having finished the race in 3 hours, 56 minutes and 58 seconds. He placed ahead of Mexico's Ivan Flores (3h58:04) and behind China's Zhao Chengliang (3h56:47). In comparison, Alex Schwazer of Italy, who won the gold medal, finished the event in 3 hours, 37 minutes and 9 seconds (breaking the Olympic record), and last-place finalist Kazimir Verkin of Slovakia finished the race in 4 hours, 21 minutes and 26 seconds. [9]
Evelyn Rosmeri Núñez Fuentes was the sole female Guatemalan track athlete participating in the Beijing Olympics. Born on 9 April 1971 in Guatemala's capital Guatemala City, in 1971, Núñez participated at the Beijing Olympics at the age of 37 in the women's 20 kilometers race walk. She had not previously competed in any Olympic games. [10] Her race took place on August 20, where Núñez faced 47 other athletes. Of those 47 competitors, 42 finished the race. Núñez ranked last of the 43 finishing athletes, completing the race walk in 1 hour, 44 minutes and 13 seconds. Latvia's Jolanta Dukure ranked immediately ahead of her (1h41:03), while Greece's Despina Zapounidou ranked ahead of Dukere (1h39:11). Russia's Olga Kaniskina won the gold medal, breaking an Olympic record in the process (1h26:31). [11] Núñez was 17 minutes and 42 seconds behind Kaniskina. [11]
Athlete | Event | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | Rank | ||
Alfredo Arévalo | Marathon | 2:28:26 | 63 |
José Amado García | 2:20:15 | 35 | |
Luis Fernando García | 50 km walk | 3:56:58 | 22 |
Athlete | Event | Final | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | Rank | ||
Evelyn Núñez | 20 km walk | 1:44:13 | 43 |
Kevin Haroldo Cordón Buezo represented Guatemala as its only badminton player at the Beijing Olympics. Born on 28 November 1986 in La Unión, a town in the inland Zacapa Department that lies on the Honduran border, Cordón was 21 years old at the time he competed in the Beijing Olympics in men's singles badminton. He did not previously compete in any Olympic games. [12] On August 11, during the first round, Cordón faced China's Bao Chunlai. In his first match against Bao that took 17 minutes, [6] Cordón lost, scoring 17 points while his Chinese opponent reached 21 points. He also lost in his second round match that took 19 minutes, [6] where he scored 16 to Bao's 21 points. Losing the match, Kevin Cordón did not advance to later rounds. [13]
Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / BM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | ||
Kevin Cordón | Men's singles | Bye | Bao Cl (CHN) L 17–21, 16–21 | Did not advance |
Guatemala qualified one boxer for the Olympic boxing tournament. Eddie Valenzuela Barrillas qualified for the flyweight class at the second Americas qualifying tournament, [14] competing in the Beijing Olympics as the only boxer representing Guatemala. Born in 1982 in Guatemala City, the national capital, Valenzuela was 25 years old at the time he entered Beijing as a competitor in the men's flyweight class, which includes athletes below 51 kilograms in weight. He had not previously competed at any Olympic games. [15] The preliminary round of the event took place on August 12, and Valenzuela participated in the ninth bout of the event. He was paired with Thai boxer Somjit Jongjohor. While managing to score a single punch on Jongjohor, the Thai athlete scored six on Valenzuela and defeated him. While Valenzuela did not progress to later rounds, Jongjohor eventually won the gold medal in the event. [16]
Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | ||
Eddie Valenzuela | Flyweight | Jongjohor (THA) L 1–6 | Did not advance |
Juan Andrés Rodríguez Silva participated on Guatemala's behalf as its only equestrian athlete in the Beijing Olympics. Born in September 1971, Rodríguez was 36 years old at the time he participated in Beijing, where he qualified for the individual jumping event. He had not previously competed in any Olympic games. [17] During the first part of the August 15 preliminary round, Rodríguez and Orestus accrued eight points from jump penalties and one point from a time penalty, earning nine penalty points overall. [17] Of the 77 competitors in this first portion of the event, Rodríguez tied Venezuela's Pablo Barros and Mexico's Enrique Gonzalez for 52nd place. [18] In the second round, the pair again accrued seven jumping penalties and one time penalty, bringing their total up to 18 penalty points. [17] This placed Rodríguez at 40th place out of the 71 finishing athletes, tying German riders Ludger Beerbaum and Christian Ahlmann as well as Brazil's Camila Benedicto. [18] In the third round, Rodríguez and Orestus accrued 12 jumping penalties and a single time penalty, raising their total to 31 penalty points. [17] With this, Juan Rodríguez ranked 41st in the event. [18]
Athlete | Horse | Event | Qualification | Final | Total | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round A | Round B | |||||||||||||
Penalties | Rank | Penalties | Total | Rank | Penalties | Total | Rank | Penalties | Rank | Penalties | Total | Rank | Penalties | Rank | |||
Juan Andrés Rodríguez | Orestus VDL | Individual | 9 | 52 Q | 9 | 18 | 40 Q | 13 | 31 | 41 | Did not advance | 31 | 41 |
Rita Isabel Sanz-Agero Luna represented Guatemala as its only modern pentathlete at the Beijing Olympics. Born on 8 November 1991 in the national capital Guatemala City, Sanz-Agero is the daughter of María Isabel Sanz; the granddaughter of Rita de Luna; and the niece of Silvia de Luna, all of whom were Olympic athletes as well. Sanz-Agero was 16 years old at the time she participated in the women's individual modern pentathlon. She had not previously appeared at any Olympic games. [19] Olympic modern pentathlon involved five events: shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running. At the shooting portion of the pentathlon, Sanz-Agero scored 171 points in the event, which translated to the 988 points that were added to her total score. [19] She placed ahead of Kazakh pentathlete Ldad Jiyenbalanova and behind Hungary's Leila Gyenesei. [20] During the fencing portion of the event, Sanz-Agero won seven matches and lost 28. Overall, she earned 568 points [19] and ranked 35 out of the event's 36 athletes. She defeated the United States' Sheila Taormina (4 wins, 31 losses), but fell behind Germany's Eva Trautmann (9 wins, 26 losses) in a competition led by Germany's Lena Schoneborn (28 wins, 7 losses). [20] The next phase involved swimming 200 meters, a race that Sanz-Agero competed in 2:29.41. She placed in between Belarusian athlete Anastasiya Samusevich (2:29.64) and Mexico's Marlene Sanchez (2:27.39). [20] Her score translated into 1,128 points, which was added to her overall score. [19] The penultimate event of the pentathlon was show jumping. The Guatemalan athlete accrued 84 obstacle penalties, but no time or warm-up penalties, finishing the event in 1:08.38. This score translated in into 1,116 points, [19] placing Sanz-Agero ahead of Russia's Tatiana Muratova and behind Italy's Claudia Corsini. [20] The pentathlon's final event involved running a three-kilometer race. Finishing at 11:09.98, Sanz-Agero ranked 34th, defeating Australia's Angie Darby (11:21.96) and falling behind South Korea's Yun Chorong (11:47.30). [20] Rita Sanz-Agero's total score was 4,844, placing her in 34th place out of the event's 36 competitors. She again ranked ahead of Darby (4,814 points) and behind Yun (4,872 points). For comparison, the last place finalist, Jiyenbalanova, received 3,736 points, while gold medalist Schoneborn earned 5,762 points. [20]
Athlete | Event | Shooting (10 m air pistol) | Fencing (épée one touch) | Swimming (200 m freestyle) | Riding (show jumping) | Running (3000 m) | Total points | Final rank | ||||||||||
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Points | Rank | MP Points | Results | Rank | MP points | Time | Rank | MP points | Penalties | Rank | MP points | Time | Rank | MP Points | ||||
Rita Sanz-Agero | Women's | 171 | 31 | 988 | 7–28 | 35 | 568 | 2:29.41 | 32 | 1128 | 84 | 18 | 1116 | 11:09.98 | 29 | 1044 | 4844 | 34 |
Juan Ignacio Maegli represented Guatemala as its only sailor at the Beijing Olympics. Born in July 1988, Maegli was 20 years old upon his participation in Beijing in the men's one-person Laser-class dinghy. He is the son of Guatemalan Olympian Juan Maegli. [21] In his event, there were 43 competitors. Maegli was disqualified in the first round, earning 44 points. In the second round, however, Maegli earned 9 points, ranking ahead of Finland's Pierre Angelo Collura (10 points) and behind Portugal's Gustavo Lima (8 points). The third race place Maegli at 39th ahead of New Zealand's Andrew Murdoch (40 points) and behind the Czech Republic's Martin Trcka (37 points). At the end of the fourth race, Maegli placed 16th ahead of Japan's Yoichi Iijima (17 points) and behind Danish athlete Anders Nyholm (15 points), while in the fifth race, the Guatemalan sailor received a black flag, earning 44 points. Maegli ranked 39th in the seventh race between Barbados' Gregory Douglas (40 points) and the Netherlands' Rutger van Schaardenburg (38 points), 32nd in the eighth race between Thomas Barrows III of the United States Virgin Islands (31 points) and Singapore's Seng Leong Loh (33 points), and 12th on the ninth and final race between Australia's Tom Slingsby (11 points) and Spain's Javier Hernandez (13 points). [22] Of the 43 athletes participating in these events, Maegli ranked 33rd, earning a collective 206 points across all nine races. He was three points greater than Allan Julie of the Seychelles, who ranked ahead of him, and nine points less than the Netherlands' van Schaardenburg, who ranked behind him. In comparison, 43rd-place finisher Gregory Douglas of Barbados earned 299 points, while gold medalist Paul Goodison of Great Britain earned 63 points. [22]
Athlete | Event | Race | Net points | Final rank | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | M* | ||||
Juan Ignacio Maegli | Laser | 9 | 39 | 16 | 44 | 32 | 39 | 12 | 15 | CAN | EL | 206 | 33 |
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled;
Juan Carlos Romero Arribas represented Guatemala as its only shooter at the Beijing Olympics, participating in the men's skeet event. Born in 1963, Romero made his Olympic debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he competed in men's skeet and ranked 26th in the final round as a 40-year-old. He returned in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a 26-year-old, finishing in 35th place, and returned again to the Olympics in Beijing at age 48. [23] Romero participated in five rounds within the event. In the first round, he scored 24 points; in the second, 21; in the third, 23; in the fourth, 21; and in the fifth and final round, 22. In total, he scored 111 points. [23] In the final standings, Juan Romero placed 26th out of the 41 participating shooters. [24] The gold medalist, Vincent Hancock, scored 145 points, 34 more points than Romero. [24]
Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
Juan Carlos Romero | Skeet | 111 | 26 | Did not advance |
Gisela María Morales Valentín was Guatemala's only swimmer at the Beijing Olympics. Born in December 1987, Morales was 16 at the time of her first Olympic performance, when she swam in the women's 100 meters backstroke and the women's 200 meters backstroke at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She respectively ranked 27th and 26th in those events' qualification rounds. Morales visited Beijing as a 20-year-old Olympian. [25] In the women's 100 meters, Morales took place in the August 10 preliminary round's second heat. Six swimmers participated in her heat. With a time of 1:02.92, Morales placed second ahead of Serbian third place finalist Marica Strazmester (1:03.56) and behind Polish first place finalist Zuzanna Mazurek (1:02.77). Of the 47 athletes who finished their events, Morales placed 38th. She did not advance to later rounds. [26]
Gisela Morales also represented Guatemala in the women's 200 meters backstroke, the second time she participated in the Olympics in that event. During the preliminary round of the event, which took place on August 14, Morales was placed in the first heat against two other athletes. She finished the race in 2:14.54, placing second ahead of last place heat finalist Erin Nicole Volcan Smith of Venezuela (2:15.58) and behind heat leader Kang Yeongseo of South Korea (2:14.52). Overall, 34 athletes finished in the event, and Morales ranked in 27th place. She did not advance to the next round. [27]
Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
Gisela Morales | 100 m backstroke | 1:02.92 | 38 | Did not advance | |||
200 m backstroke | 2:14.54 | 27 | Did not advance | ||||
Christian Alberto López Bobadilla participated on Guatemala's behalf as the nation's only weightlifter at the Beijing Olympics. Born on 30 March 1984 in the city of Coatepeque in the Quetzaltenango Department, which lies in the nation's western highlands near to the Pacific Ocean, López was 24 at the time he participated in the Beijing Olympics. He was placed in the heavyweight class, which included people under 105 kilograms in weight. [28] The event took place on August 18, and López was placed in the first group of athletes. He was the only competitor from the Western Hermisphere in the event. [29] During the snatch portion of the event, the Guatemalan was given three attempts to lift the weights. On his first attempt, he lifted 150 kilograms successfully. He unsuccessfully attempted to lift 155 kilograms on his second and third tries. During the clean and jerk phrase of the event, López was again given three tries; he successfully lifted 180 kilograms on his first attempt, failed to lift 186 kilograms on his second, and successfully raised 186 kilograms on his final attempt. Since his highest scores were 150 and 186 (respectively in snatch and clean and jerk), his end score was 336 kilograms. [28] Of the 17 athletes who finished the event, López ranked 16th. He placed ahead of Italy's Moreno Boer (330 points) and behind the Czech Republic's Libor Walzer (350 points). [29]
Athlete | Event | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Total | Rank | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||||
Christian López | Men's −105 kg | 150 | 17 | 186 | 17 | 336 | 17 |
American Samoa sent a team to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The U.S. territory selected four athletes to compete in three sports: swimming, athletics and judo. The dependency's participation in Beijing marked its seventh participation in any Olympic game since its debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and its sixth participation at any Summer Olympic games. Of the four American Samoan athletes who participated in Beijing, all four were first-time Olympians and born outside American Samoa and none of the four advanced past the qualification or preliminary rounds of their events. More women participated in the 2008 American Samoan Olympic delegation than in any one delegation in its Olympic history. Judoka Silulu A'etonu was the territory's flagbearer at the ceremonies.
On behalf of the Cook Islands the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee sent a team to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, marking its sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics since its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The country sent four athletes to the Games across three sports and four distinct events. No athlete of the Cook Islander delegation progressed past the first rounds in their events and did not go on to win medals. Pera was the nation's flag bearer at the ceremonies.
The Federated States of Micronesia sent a team of five athletes to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The appearance of the delegation marked the third appearance by a Micronesian team at the Olympics since its debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Three male athletes and two female athletes comprised the Olympic team. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the qualification round, and Minginfel placed second to last in his event. There has yet to be a medalist from the Federated States of Micronesia. Minginfel held the Micronesian flag in the opening ceremony.
Indonesia competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. At the games, twenty-two Indonesians had qualified to compete, while the other three had been granted a wildcard entry.
The Bahamas sent a delegation of athletes to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics, which were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from 8 to 24 August 2008. Its Beijing appearance marked its fourteenth time at the Olympics since its début at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. The delegation included 25 athletes across four sports and nineteen distinct events. Its athletes advanced to semifinals in eight events and finals in five events, medaling in two of them. The Bahamian delegation was one of the largest sent between its début and 2008. The country's flag bearer was Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.
Haiti sent a delegation to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. Its participation in Beijing marked its seventh consecutive appearance at the summer Olympics and its fourteenth appearance overall, with its first being at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. The Haitian Olympic team included seven athletes participating in track and field, boxing, and judo. More women participated for Haiti in 2008 than at any single Olympic games prior. Although Pierre and Dorival advanced to quarterfinals in their events, there were no Haitian medalists in Beijing. Brutus carried his country's flag at the ceremonies.
Puerto Rico competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics which was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. The American territory with a population of four million people qualified 22 athletes in eight different sports. The appearance of the Puerto Rican delegation at the Beijing Olympics marked the commonwealth's sixteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics, and its twenty-second appearance at any Olympic Games, since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. Of its competitors participating in events that involve progression by heats, six athletes advanced at least one round in their events, and two advanced at least two rounds, with Asunción Ocasio almost medaling bronze in taekwondo. However, there were no Puerto Rican medalists at the Beijing Olympics. McWilliams Arroyo, a boxer, bore Puerto Rico's flag at the ceremonies.
The United States Virgin Islands competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, which were held in Beijing, the People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. The appearance of its 23-person delegation marked its fifteenth appearance at the Olympic games, and its tenth appearance at the Summer Olympic games. In total, seven athletes participated on behalf of the Virgin Islands in Beijing. Of those, John Jackson and Tabarie Henry progressed to a post-preliminary event, and Henry reached semifinals in his own. There were no Virgin Islander medalists at the Beijing Olympics.
Sudan sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Nine competitors, all from the Darfur region and northern Sudan, represented Sudan at the Beijing games.
Guyana sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Four representatives of Guyana qualified to take part in the Beijing Games–Adam Harris, Marian Burnett, and Aliann Pompey in track, and Niall Roberts in swimming–and Pompey advanced past the first round in her event, progressing to semifinals. Meanwhile, Alika Morgan and Geron Williams (cycling) took part in the Games' Youth Olympics camp, held in Beijing at the same time as the Olympics. Along with coaches and administrative members, Guyana sent a total of ten people to Beijing. The appearance of Guyana's delegation in Beijing marked the fifteenth Guyanese Olympic delegation to appear at an Olympic games, which started with their participation as British Guiana in the 1948 Summer Olympics. There were no medalists from Guyana at the Beijing Olympics. Roberts was Guyana's flagbearer at the ceremonies in Beijing.
Jamaica sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. This was, by far, Jamaica's best showing at the Summer Olympics; it was the nation's largest delegation yet, and its athletes nearly doubled its total gold medal count in addition to breaking the nation's record for number of medals earned in a single games. Jamaica's appearance at Beijing was its fifteenth consecutive appearance and appearance as an independent nation, although it had previously participated in four other games as a British colony and as part of the West Indies Federation. In the 29 events that included Jamaican athletes, there were 26 cases in which a Jamaican athlete or relay progressed to a final round. Usain Bolt won three of Jamaica's six gold medals at Beijing, breaking an Olympic and world record in all three of the events in which he participated. Shelly-Ann Fraser led an unprecedented Jamaican sweep of the medals in the Women's 100 m. Female sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown carried Jamaica's flag at the ceremonies.
Belize competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from 8 to 24 August 2008. Its participation in Beijing marked its eighth Olympic appearance under the name "Belize" and its tenth overall, as its first two appearances were under the name "British Honduras". The Belizean delegation in 2008 included four athletes: three participated in track and field events and one in taekwondo. Belize did not medal in Beijing, and had not medaled before Beijing, but Jonathan Williams became the first Belizean athlete to advance past the first round of any Olympic event.
Antigua and Barbuda competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, submitting a delegation that included athletes Daniel Bailey, Brendan Christian, James Grayman, and Sonia Williams in track and field events, and Kareem Valentine in swimming. Antigua and Barbuda's appearance in Beijing marked its eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the nation's debut at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, Canada. There were no medalists from Antigua and Barbuda in 2008, although Bailey reached the quarterfinals and Christian the semifinals of their respective events.
Barbados sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The island nation made its tenth appearance as an independent nation upon its arrival in Beijing. Eight athletes across three sports and ten events represented Barbados, marking the smallest delegation in its history up to the Beijing Games. Its runners and swimmers advanced past the first rounds in their events in four of their nine events, although none advanced to their events' final rounds or medaled. The nation's flagbearer during the Beijing Games was swimmer Bradley Ally.
Bolivia sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China. The South American country's delegation was the fifteenth Summer Olympic team and seventeenth overall Olympic team overall sent by the country. Bolivia's National Olympic Committee sent seven athletes–three women and four men–across five sports and seven distinct events. A substantial number of the athletes originated in southern Bolivian cities, most notably Santa Cruz de la Sierra. All athletes except for cyclist Horacio Gallardo finished their events, although no medals were won by the country at these Games. Trap shooter César Menacho was the Bolivian flag bearer at the ceremonies.
Suriname sent a delegation of four people to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China: two athletes (Jurgen Themen and Kirsten Nieuwendam and two swimmers who participated in four distinct events. The appearance of Suriname at Beijing marked its tenth Olympic appearance, which included every Olympic games since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and excluded the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Its four athletes did not advance past the first round in each of their events. The Surinamese flag bearer in Beijing was not an athlete, but Anthony Nesty, the only medalist in Surinamese history and the nation's Olympic swimming coach.
Trinidad and Tobago sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Its participation in the Beijing games marked its eighteenth Olympic appearance and fifteenth Summer Olympic appearance since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, excluding its joint participation with Jamaica and Barbados in 1960 as the West Indies Federation. With 28 athletes, more Trinidadians had competed at the Olympics than in any other single Olympic Games in its history before Beijing. Athletes representing Trinidad and Tobago advanced past the preliminary or qualification rounds in twelve events and reached the final rounds in four of those events. Of those four events, silver medals were won in the men's 100 meters and in the men's 4x100 meters relay. The latter was upgraded to gold due to one member of the quartet that crossed the line first, Nesta Carter, testing positive for a banned substance, resulting in their disqualification. The nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony that year was swimmer and Athens medalist George Bovell.
Chad sent a delegation of two athletes to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China: Moumi Sébergué, who competed in the men's 100 meters, and Hinikissia Albertine Ndikert, who competed in the women's 100 meters and also bore the Chadian flag during ceremonies. The appearance of this delegation marked the tenth appearance of Chad at the Summer Olympics, the first been in 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and its seventh appearance since its Olympic hiatus between 1976 and 1980. Both Sébergué and Ndikert ranked seventh in their respective heats and did not advance past the qualification round. As of the end of the 2012 London Olympics, there have been no medalists from Chad.
The Republic of the Congo sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Rita Sanz-Agero is a female modern pentathlete from Guatemala. At age sixteen, Sanz-Agero became the youngest modern pentathlete to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she finished thirty-fourth in the women's event, with a score of 4,844 points.