Guam at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Guam competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016. This was the territory's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.

Guam at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeGUM
NOCGuam National Olympic Committee
Websitewww.oceaniasport.com/guam/
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors5 in 3 sports
Flag bearerBenjamin Schulte[1]
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Guam National Olympic Committee sent the territory's smallest delegation to the Games since 2004. Five athletes, three men and two women, were selected to the Guamanian team to compete only in athletics, mountain biking, and swimming.[2] Three of them made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, with swimmers Pilar Shimizu and Benjamin Schulte, who led the squad as Guam's flag bearer in the opening ceremony, returning for their second appearance from London 2012.[1]

None of the athletes made it past the first heat or won a medal. Guam has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.

Background

Guam was officially recognized on November 25, 1987, which they had worked towards for six years. Now officially recognized, Guam was able to send athletes to train in Australia and the United States, and had funding to improve its sports programs. Guam's first Olympic appearance was at the 1988 Winter Olympics where Judd Bankert became Guam's first Olympic athlete competing in the biathlon. Guam's first summer appearance was later that same year in Seoul, South Korea. Guam sent its largest delegation to the 1992 Summer Olympics, with 22 athletes.[3]

Starting with the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Guam began sending fewer athletes. The NOC's sponsors were concerned about the cost of sending large delegations and wanted to send athletes who were more likely to be competitive. The IOC also asked countries to reduce the size of their delegations, since there were so many countries competing in those Olympics.[3]

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

Guam received universality slots from IAAF to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[4][5][6]

Joshua Ilustre competed in the 800 m race, finishing with a time of 1:58.85. He found out an hour after the race that he was disqualified due to a lane violation. Ilustre appealed the ruling, but after twelve hours learned it was unsuccessful.[7] He thought the video evidence was unclear on whether he stepped on the line. The time would have been a personal best for Ilustre. He said, "I wish things would have turned out better. It is what it is. I can’t do much about it, but make it into a learning experience".[8]

Regine Tugade ran the 100 m sprint. She finished third in her heat with a time of 12.52 seconds, just short of her national record time of 12.26 seconds.[7] She placed third in her heat, failing to advance to the next round. She wore a red hair tie, a tradition she has kept since high school, which along with her red spikes match the color of Guam's flag. About her performance, she said "I didn’t run my personal best, but I honestly felt like I ran my hardest and I felt like I performed well. It may not show time-wise, but my body and my mentality feels like I pushed it to my limit".[9]

Key
  • Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
  • N/A = Round not applicable for the event
Track & road events
Athlete Event Heat Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Joshua Ilustre Men's 800 m DSQ[8] N/A Did not advance
Regine Tugade Women's 100 m 12.52[10] 3 Did not advance

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

Mountain biking

Guam qualified one mountain biker for the men's Olympic cross-country race, as Oceania's sole representative outside the world's top twenty-five nations in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of May 25, 2016. Peter Lombard was the only Guamanian athlete to qualify for the 2016 Olympics on merit.[11] Lombard is an eye surgeon, and rearranged his work schedule to allow for more training. He also took a week off of work to train on mountains in Japan.[12]

Lombard was one of five athletes who did not finish the race. He had issues with his bike pedal that made it hard to clip in. At one point, the course was so slippery from rain riders had to dismount. The faulty clip made it difficult for Lombard to re-mount his bike. He crashed on both the first and second lap before being pulled from the race after the second crash.[13] Once the motorcycle pulled him from the race, he was at the top of a mountain and unsure where to go. He decided to cheer on the cyclists still in the race, which drew attention and was well received by the crowd. About his Olympic experience, he said, "I’m happy to be done, happy to be in one piece".[14]

Athlete Event Time Rank
Peter Lombard Men's cross-country Did not finish[13]

Swimming
Main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Guam received a universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[15][16][17]

Pilar Shimizu competed in the 100 m breaststroke. She held the Guamanian national record for the event at the time of competition.[18] Shimizu previously placed 42nd in the event during the 2012 London Olympics.[19] She finished her event with a time of 1:16.65, which was not sufficient to advance.[20]

Benjamin Schulte, the flagbearer for the opening and closing ceremonies, swam in the 100 m breaststroke.[21] He broke his own national record with a time of 1:03.29 (previous record was 1:03.42).[7] He was happy with his result and plans on competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.[22]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Benjamin Schulte Men's 100 m breaststroke 1:03.29[23] 43 Did not advance
Pilar Shimizu Women's 100 m breaststroke 1:16.65[20] 38 Did not advance

Qualifiers for the latter rounds of all swimming events were decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.

References
  1. Sablan, Jerick (August 4, 2016). "Schulte will bear Guam flag in Rio Olympics opening ceremony". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  2. Sablan, Jerick (July 23, 2016). "Guam's athletes for the Olympics". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  3. Sablan, Jerick (July 9, 2016). "Guam's history at the Olympics". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  4. "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  5. "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  6. "GNOC announces Team Guam delegation to Rio2016 Olympic Games". Guam National Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  7. "No. 7: Team Guam shines, stumbles at Rio Olympics". Pacific Daily News. December 31, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  8. Sablan, Jerick (August 18, 2016). "Ilustre: Disqualification like 'slap in the face'". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  9. Sablan, Jerick (August 13, 2016). "Tugade finishes 3rd in heat at Rio Olympics". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  10. "100 Metres Women". IAAF. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  11. Tomas, Jojo (August 19, 2017). "Rio de Janeiro Olympics cyclist Peter Lombard wants to compete again, but needs to heal". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  12. Balajadia, Robert (July 28, 2016). "Olympic profile: Cyclist Peter Lombard". The Guam Daily Post. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  13. "Men's Cross Country". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  14. Sablan, Jerick (August 22, 2016). "Olympic mountain bike course gets best of Lombard". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  15. "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  16. "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  17. Keith, Braden (July 11, 2016). "Guam Names 2 NCAA-Based Swimmers to 2016 Olympic Roster". SwimSwam. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  18. Sablan, Jerick (July 23, 2016). "Shimizu will use experience to compete in Rio". Iohud. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  19. O'Shea, Dennis (July 28, 2016). "Johns Hopkins Olympians swimming with the big fish in Rio". Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  20. "100m Breaststroke Women". Olympic. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  21. George, Duane (August 5, 2016). "Schulte leads Guam in Olympics opening". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  22. Sablan, Jerick (August 7, 2016). "Schulte breaks Guam national record in Rio". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  23. "100m Breaststroke Men". Olympic. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  • [GUM/summer/2016/ Guam at the 2016 Summer Olympics] at SR/Olympics
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