Timor-Leste at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Participation

Timor-Leste, also called East Timor, joined the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The games happened from August 5 to August 21. This was the fourth time Timor-Leste was in the Summer Olympics.

Athletes

Three athletes from Timor-Leste competed: one man and two women. They ran and rode bikes. Running was in athletics, and biking was a new sport for the country. The athletes were Nélia Martins, Augusto Ramos Soares, and Francelina Cabral. Francelina Cabral carried the flag for Timor-Leste during the opening ceremony.

Background

Timor-Leste, also called East Timor, first joined the Olympic Games in 2004 in Athens, Greece. Before that, athletes from Timor-Leste took part in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but their Olympic Committee was not recognized until 2003. The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was the fourth time Timor-Leste joined the Olympic Games in a row.

Competitors

Timor-Leste had three athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They took part in two sports: athletics and mountain biking. This was the first time the country joined in mountain biking.

Athletics

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

Timor-Leste could send two athletes to the Olympics because of special rules. These athletes were Augusto Ramos Soares in the men's 1,500 m race and Nélia Martins in the women's 1,500 m.

Track & road events

Cycling

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

Timor-Leste was invited to send a mountain biker for the women's race at the 2016 Summer Olympics. This was the first time the country took part in mountain biking at the Olympics. One athlete from Timor-Leste, Francelina Cabral, competed in the mountain bike women's cross-country event.