Niger at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Niger competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation made its debut in 1964, Nigerien athletes had participated in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two rare occasions, the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and the US-led boycotts, respectively.

Niger at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeNIG
NOCNigerien Olympic and National Sports Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors6 in 4 sports
Flag bearer Abdoul Razak Issoufou[1]
Medals
Ranked 69th
Gold
0
Silver
1
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Nigerien Olympic and National Sports Committee (French: Comité Olympique et Sportif National du Niger, COSNI) sent a team of six athletes, four men and two women, to compete in four different sports at the Olympics, matching the nation's roster size with London 2012.[1] This was also the youngest delegation in Niger's Olympic history, with about half the team under the age of 25, and many of the team members were expected to reach their peak in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. All of the Nigerien athletes made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, with six-foot-nine taekwondo fighter Abdoul Razak Issoufou leading the team as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[2]

Niger left Rio de Janeiro with its first ever Olympic medal of any color since the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. It was awarded to Issoufou in the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg).[3]

Medalists

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Medal Name Sport Event Date
  Silver Abdoul Razak Issoufou Taekwondo Men's +80 kg 20 August

Athletics

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Niger has received universality slots from IAAF to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[1][4][5]

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 Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Ousseini Djibo Men's 400 m 50.06 8 Did not advance
Mariama Mahamatou Itatou Women's 400 m 54.32 6 Did not advance

Judo

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Niger has qualified one judoka for the men's lightweight category (73 kg) at the Games. Ahmed Goumar earned a continental quota spot from the African region as Niger's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.[6]

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
Ahmed Goumar Men's −73 kg Bye   Delpopolo (USA)
L 000–100
Did not advance

Swimming

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Niger has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[7][8][9]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Albachir Mouctar Men's 50 m freestyle 26.56 NR 70 Did not advance
Roukaya Mahamane Women's 50 m freestyle 35.60 NR 83 Did not advance

Taekwondo

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Niger entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics. Abdoul Razak Issoufou secured a spot in the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg) by virtue of his top two finish at the 2016 African Qualification Tournament in Agadir, Morocco.[10]

Athlete Event Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Abdoul Razak Issoufou Men's +80 kg   N'diaye (FRA)
W 6–0
  Siqueira (BRA)
W 6–1
  Shokin (UZB)
W 8–2
Bye   Isayev (AZE)
L 2–6
 

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Participation du Niger aux Jeux Olympiques 2016 : Les athlètes nigériens au rendez-vous de Rio de Janeiro" [Niger's participation to the 2016 Olympics: Nigerian athletes are leaving for Rio de Janeiro] (in French). Le Sahel. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  2. ^ "JO 2016: les porte-drapeaux africains à Rio" [2016 Olympics: African flag bearers for Rio] (in French). Radio France Internationale. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Issoufou Alfaga Abdoulrazak's silver in taekwondo boosts African medal count". The Indian Express. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  4. ^ "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  5. ^ "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  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. ^ "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Men's Final Entry List" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Women's Final Entry List" (PDF). FINA. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Ten countries secure Rio 2016 places at taekwondo African Qualification Tournament". World Taekwondo Federation. 8 February 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
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