Saudi Arabia at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Saudi Arabia at the 2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code	KSA
NOC	Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee
Website	olympic.sa  (in Arabic and English)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	11 in 5 sports
Flag bearer	Sulaiman Hamad [1]
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Saudi Arabia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Summer Olympics.

The Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee sent a team of eleven athletes, seven men and four women, to compete in five different sports at the Olympics, doubling its female participation after two women attended the London Games four years earlier. ^[2] Discus thrower Sultan Mubarak Al-Dawoodi, along with distance runners Moukhled Al-Outaibi and Sarah Attar, were the only Saudi Arabian athletes to have participated at the previous Games, with the rest of the field making their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, judoka Sulaiman Hamad (men's 66 kg) led the Saudi delegation as the flag bearer and team captain in the opening ceremony. ^[1]

Saudi Arabia left Rio de Janeiro without a single Olympic medal, failing to reproduce its performance from the previous Games due to the absence of the equestrian jumping team.

Athletics

Main articles: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Saudi Arabian athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): ^{[3] [4]}

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Abdullah Abkar Mohammed	Men's 100 m	Bye		10.26	5	Did not advance
Tariq Ahmed Al-Amri	Men's 5000 m	14:26.90	21	—				Did not advance
Moukhled Al-Outaibi		14:18.48	21	—				Did not advance
Kariman Abuljadayel	Women's 100 m	14.61 NR	7	Did not advance
Sarah Attar	Women's marathon	—						3:16:11	132

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Sultan Mubarak Al-Dawoodi	Men's discus throw	54.34	33	Did not advance

Fencing

Main articles: Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Saudi Arabia entered one fencer into the Olympic competition, returning to the sport for the first time since 1992. Lubna Al-Omair was given an exceptional additional quota place by the "universality clause", promoting equality in the Olympics. ^[5]

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
Lubna Al-Omair	Women's foil	Rochel  (BRA) L 0–15	Did not advance

Judo

Main articles: Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Saudi Arabia qualified one judoka for each of the following two classes at the Games. Sulaiman Hamad (men's 66 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the Asian region, as Saudi Arabia's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016. ^[6] Meanwhile, Wujud Fahmi (women's 52 kg) received an exceptional additional quota place under the "universality clause" by the International Olympic Committee. ^[7]

Fahmi was accused by Israeli media of purposely forfeiting her match in order to avoid competing against Israeli judoka Gili Cohen in the second round. ^[8] Fahmi, Saudi Arabia's news agency Al Arabiya, and the Saudi Olympic delegation said that Fahmi forfeited because she received injuries to her hands and feet in training. ^{[9] [10]} However, other media outlets, such as Israel Channel 2, reported she was not injured. ^[11] Jim Nieto, the martial arts instructor who coached her before the Olympics, said it seemed fishy that she, after taking part in the Opening Ceremony, was reportedly injured so close to her fight date, because top competitors generally don't fight the day before their competition. He said "I feel sorry for her. Let her fight — even if she lasts 10 seconds. She busted her butt for almost a year to get there." ^[10]

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Sulaiman Hamad	Men's −66 kg	Bye	Davaadorj  (MGL) L 000–100	Did not advance
Joud Fahmy	Women's −52 kg	—	Legentil  (MRI) L 000–100	Did not advance

Shooting

Main articles: Shooting at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Shooting at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Saudi Arabia qualified one shooter in the men's pistol events by virtue of his best finish at the 2016 Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament in New Delhi, India, as long as he obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016. ^[12]

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Atallah Al-Anazi	Men's 10 m air pistol	573	32	Did not advance
	Men's 50 m pistol	550	20	Did not advance

Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Saudi Arabia qualified one male weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top seven national finish at the 2016 Asian Championships. ^[13] The team was required to allocate this place by June 20, 2016. ^[14]

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Mohsen Al-Duhaylib	Men's −69 kg	135	20	162	17	297	17

References

1. "The Flagbearers for the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony". International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 5 August 2016.
2. Batrawy, Aya (31 July 2016). "Saudi Arabia doubles female Olympic athletes from 2 to 4". Associated Press . Retrieved 10 October 2016.
3. "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
4. "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF . Retrieved 18 April 2015.
5. Usmanov, Alisher (27 June 2016). "Information Letter" (PDF). FIE . Retrieved 16 July 2016.
6. "IJF Officially Announces Qualified Athletes for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". International Judo Federation. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
7. "Olympics 2016: Saudi Arabia to send four women to Rio". Gulf Daily News. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
8. "Saudi judoka forfeits Rio match, apparently to avoid Israeli". The Times of Israel . 7 August 2016.
9. "Israeli media ignores Saudi Judoka's injury, insist withdrawal is political". Al Arabiya. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
10. Goodman, Jeff (10 August 2016). "Santa Monica judoka bows out of Olympic match". Santa Monica Daily Press . Retrieved 8 September 2016.
11. "Saudi judoka forfeits Rio match, apparently to avoid Israeli" . Retrieved 11 August 2016.
12. "Quota Places by Nation and Number". www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
13. "Continental Qualification current standing". International Weightlifting Federation . Retrieved 2 May 2016.
14. "Saudi weightlifter qualifies to Rio 2016 Olympics". Gulf Daily News. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.

External links

• Saudi Arabia at the 2016 Summer Olympics at SR/Olympics (archived)