Gabon competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Olympics.
Gabon Olympic Committee () sent a total of six athletes, four men and two women, to compete in four different sports at these Games. The nation's roster was relatively smaller by nearly three quarters of its size from London 2012, where Gabon registered a team of 26 athletes. Among the sports represented by the athletes, Gabon made its Olympic debut in swimming.
Among the Gabonese athletes on the team were sprinters Wilfried Bingangoye and Ruddy Zang Milama, and taekwondo fighter Anthony Obame, who established history as the nation's first ever Olympic medalist, earning the silver in the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg) four years earlier. The most successful athlete of the Games, Obame led the team as Gabon's first male flag bearer in the opening ceremony since 1996.
Gabon, however, left Rio de Janeiro without a single Olympic medal, failing to reproduce it from the previous Games. Silver medalist Anthony Obame was eliminated by Mahama Cho of Great Britain in taekwondo, failing to achieve his successful performance from his appearance in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Athletics (track and field)
Gabonese athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
Track & road events AthleteEventHeat QuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankWilfried BingangoyeMen's 100 m11.035Did not advanceRuddy Zang MilamaWomen's 100 mcolspan=2 11.67 7Did not advance
Judo
Gabon has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Sarah Myriam Mazouz was ranked among the top 14 eligible judokas for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while Paul Kibikai at men's half-middleweight (81 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the African region as Gabon's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position.
AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechageFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankPaul KibikaiMen's −81 kgW 000–000 L 000–100Did not advanceSarah Myriam MazouzWomen's −78 kgL 000–100Did not advance
Swimming
Gabon has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send a male swimmer for the first time to the Olympics.
AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankMaël AmbonguilatMen's 50 m freestyle27.2175Did not advance
Taekwondo
Gabon entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics. 2012 Olympic silver medalist Anthony Obame qualified automatically for the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg) by finishing in the top 6 WTF Olympic rankings.
AthleteEventRound of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechageFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankAnthony ObameMen's +80 kgL 6–12Did not advance
References
External links