Puerto Rico at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rico competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.

Puerto Rico at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codePUR
NOCPuerto Rico Olympic Committee
Websitewww.copur.pr (in Spanish)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors40 in 15 sports
Flag bearer Jaime Espinal[1]
Medals
Ranked 54th
Gold
1
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

The Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico de Puerto Rico, COPUR) sent a team of 40 athletes, 13 men and 27 women, to compete in 15 sports at the Games.[2][3] The nation's full roster in Rio de Janeiro was 15 athletes larger than those who attended the London Games four years earlier, and also featured more female participants than men for the first time. Puerto Rican athletes made their Olympic debut in table tennis, triathlon, and women's indoor volleyball. Puerto Rico was also represented for the first time in taekwondo after 8 years, diving, equestrian, and tennis after 12 years, and road cycling after 20 years.[4]

Of the 40 participants, twenty-nine of them made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, including table tennis players Brian Afanador and 15-year-old Adriana Diaz, tennis player Monica Puig, and New York–based taekwondo fighter Crystal Weekes. On the other hand, the remaining eleven athletes on the Puerto Rican squad had past Olympic experience, including swimmer Vanessa García, who became the first woman from her country to compete in four Olympic Games; track star Javier Culson, who captured the bronze medal in the men's 400 m hurdles four years earlier in London; and freestyle wrestler Jaime Espinal (men's 86 kg), who pocketed his country's first silver in nearly three decades.[4] The most successful athlete of the previous Games, Espinal was selected to lead his delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1]

Puerto Rico returned home from Rio de Janeiro with its first ever gold medal in Olympic history. It was awarded to tennis player Puig, who surprisingly defeated Germany's world-ranked Angelique Kerber in the final of the women's singles tournament.[5][6] Two Puerto Rican athletes, however, came closest to join Puig on the podium: platform diver Rafael Quintero, who rounded out his maiden Games with a seventh-place finish, and Culson, who was disqualified in the men's 400 m hurdles final due to a false start.[7][8]

Medalists

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Tennis player Monica Puig won Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal.

Athletics (track and field)

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Puerto Rican athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):[9][10]

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
  • NM = No mark
Track & road events
Men
Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Eric Alejandro 400 m hurdles 49.54 2 Q 49.95 7 Did not advance
Andrés Arroyo 800 m 1:46.17 3 Q 1:46.74 7 Did not advance
Javier Culson 400 m hurdles 48.53 2 Q 48.46 2 Q DSQ
Wesley Vázquez 800 m 1:46.96 5 Did not advance
Women
Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Grace Claxton 400 m hurdles 56.40 3 Q 55.85 PB 5 Did not advance
Celiangeli Morales 200 m 23.00 PB 5 Did not advance
Jasmine Quinn 100 m hurdles 12.70 1 Q DSQ Did not advance
Beverly Ramos Marathon 2:43:52 71
Field events
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Distance Position Distance Position
Luis Castro Men's high jump 2.26 =12 q 2.25 13
David Adley Smith II 2.26 23 Did not advance
Diamara Planell Women's pole vault 4.15 =29 Did not advance
Combined events – Women's heptathlon
Athlete Event 100H HJ SP 200 m LJ JT 800 m Final Rank
Alysbeth Felix Result 14.07 1.68 11.36 24.74 6.22 40.17 PB 2:15.32 5805 26
Points 968 830 619 911 918 671 888

Boxing

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Puerto Rico entered one boxer to compete in the men's flyweight division into the Olympic boxing tournament. 2012 Olympian Jeyvier Cintrón had claimed his Olympic spot by finishing among the top two boxers in the World Series of Boxing.[11][12]

Athlete Event Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Jeyvier Cintrón Men's flyweight   Sattibayev (KAZ)
L 1–20
Did not advance

Cycling

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Road

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Puerto Rico was invited by the International Cycling Union to enter one rider in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of his overall individual ranking in the 2015 UCI America Tour, and by occupying one of the four unused berths from the 2015 UCI World Tour, signifying the nation's return to the sport for the first time since 1996.[13]

Athlete Event Time Rank
Brian Babilonia Men's road race Did not finish

Diving

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Puerto Rico has entered one diver into the Olympic competition by virtue of a top 18 finish at the 2016 FINA World Cup series.[14]

Athlete Event Preliminaries Semifinals Final
Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank
Rafael Quintero Men's 10 m platform 456.55 10 Q 471.20 7 Q 485.35 7

Equestrian

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Puerto Rico has entered one eventing rider into the Olympic equestrian competition by virtue of a top two finish from a combined group of North, Central, & South America in the individual FEI Olympic rankings.[15][16] This signified the nation's Olympic return to the sport of equestrian for the first time since 2004.

Eventing

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Athlete Horse Event Dressage Cross-country Jumping Total
Qualifier Final
Penalties Rank Penalties Total Rank Penalties Total Rank Penalties Total Rank Penalties Rank
Lauren Billys Castle Larchfield Purdy Individual 56.00 55 88.40 144.40 45 11.00 155.40 44 Did not advance 155.40 44

Judo

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Puerto Rico has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. London 2012 Olympian Melissa Mojica was ranked among the top 14 eligible judokas for women in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while María Pérez at women's middleweight (70 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the Pan American region, as the highest-ranked Puerto Rican judoka outside of direct qualifying position.[17][18]

Athlete Event Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
María Pérez Women's −70 kg   Matić (CRO)
W 011–000
  Alvear (COL)
L 000–000 S
Did not advance
Melissa Mojica Women's +78 kg Bye   Sayit (TUR)
L 000–102
Did not advance

Shooting

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Puerto Rico has qualified one shooter to compete in the women's rifle events by virtue of her best finish at the 2015 Pan American Games, as long as she obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by March 31, 2016.[19][20]

Athlete Event Qualification Final
Points Rank Points Rank
Yarimar Mercado Women's 10 m air rifle 406.6 43 Did not advance
Women's 50 m rifle 3 positions 576 24 Did not advance

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

Swimming

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Puerto Rican swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):[21][22]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Vanessa García Women's 50 m freestyle 24.94 NR =22 Did not advance

Table tennis

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Puerto Rico has entered two athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games. Brian Afanador and 15-year-old Adriana Diaz secured their Olympic spots in the men's and women's singles, respectively by virtue of their top six finish at the 2016 Latin American Qualification Tournament in Santiago, Chile.[23]

Athlete Event Preliminary Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Brian Afanador Men's singles   Saka (CGO)
W 4–3
  O Assar (EGY)
L 2–4
Did not advance
Adriana Diaz Women's singles Bye   Oshonaike (NGR)
W 4–2
  Li X (FRA)
L 0–4
Did not advance

Taekwondo

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Puerto Rico entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics for the first time since 2008. Crystal Weekes secured a spot in the women's heavyweight category (+67 kg) by virtue of her top two finish at the 2016 Pan American Qualification Tournament in Aguascalientes, Mexico.[24]

Athlete Event Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Crystal Weekes Women's +67 kg   Galloway (USA)
L 0–5
Did not advance

Tennis

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Puerto Rico has entered one tennis player into the Olympic tournament, signifying the nation's comeback to the sport for the first time since 2004. Monica Puig (world no. 43) qualified directly for the women's singles as one of the top 56 eligible players in the WTA World Rankings as of June 6, 2016.[25][26]

Athlete Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Rank
Monica Puig Women's singles   Hercog (SLO)
W 6–3, 6–2
  Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
W 6–3, 6–2
  Muguruza (ESP)
W 6–1, 6–1
  Siegemund (GER)
W 6–1, 6–1
  Kvitová (CZE)
W 6–4, 1–6, 6–3
  Kerber (GER)
W 6–4, 4–6, 6–1
 

Triathlon

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Puerto Rico has received a spare berth freed up by one of the Germans to send London 2012 Olympian Manuel Huerta to the men's Olympic triathlon as the next highest-ranked individual, not yet qualified, in the ITU Olympic Qualification List as of May 15, 2016, signifying the nation's debut in the sport.[27]

Athlete Event Swim (1.5 km) Trans 1 Bike (40 km) Trans 2 Run (10 km) Total Time Rank
Manuel Huerta Men's 18:19 0:48 58:01 0:32 33:28 1:53:22 43

Volleyball

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Indoor

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Women's tournament

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Puerto Rico women's volleyball team qualified for the Olympics by scoring a first-place triumph and securing a lone outright berth at the final meet of the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan.[28]

Team roster

The following is the Puerto Rican roster in the women's volleyball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.[29][30]

Head coach: Juan Carlos Núñez

No. Name Date of birth Height Weight Spike Block 2015–16 club
1 Debora Seilhamer (L) 4 October 1985 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) 61 kg (134 lb) 245 cm (96 in) 240 cm (94 in)   Lancheras de Cataño
2 Shara Venegas (L) 18 September 1992 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) 68 kg (150 lb) 280 cm (110 in) 272 cm (107 in)   Criollas de Caguas
3 Vilmarie Mojica 13 August 1985 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 63 kg (139 lb) 295 cm (116 in) 288 cm (113 in)   Valencianas de Juncos
6 Yarimar Rosa (C) 20 June 1988 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 62 kg (137 lb) 295 cm (116 in) 285 cm (112 in)   Beşiktaş
7 Stephanie Enright 15 December 1990 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) 56 kg (123 lb) 300 cm (120 in) 292 cm (115 in)   Criollas de Caguas
9 Áurea Cruz 10 January 1982 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 63 kg (139 lb) 310 cm (120 in) 290 cm (110 in)   AGIL Novara
10 Diana Reyes 24 April 1993 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 76 kg (168 lb) 303 cm (119 in) 299 cm (118 in)   Criollas de Caguas
11 Karina Ocasio 1 August 1985 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 76 kg (168 lb) 298 cm (117 in) 288 cm (113 in)   Criollas de Caguas
14 Natalia Valentín 12 September 1989 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) 61 kg (134 lb) 244 cm (96 in) 240 cm (94 in)   Leonas de Ponce
15 Daly Santana 19 February 1995 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 63 kg (139 lb) 243 cm (96 in) 219 cm (86 in)   Capitalinas de San Juan
16 Alexandra Oquendo 3 February 1984 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 297 cm (117 in) 284 cm (112 in)   Lancheras de Cataño
18 Lynda Morales 20 May 1988 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 74 kg (163 lb) 250 cm (98 in) 248 cm (98 in)   Criollas de Caguas
Group play
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1   United States 5 5 0 14 15 5 3.000 470 400 1.175 Quarter-finals
2   Netherlands 5 4 1 11 14 7 2.000 455 425 1.071
3   Serbia 5 3 2 10 12 6 2.000 410 394 1.041
4   China 5 2 3 7 9 9 1.000 398 389 1.023
5   Italy 5 1 4 3 4 12 0.333 351 374 0.939
6   Puerto Rico 5 0 5 0 0 15 0.000 277 379 0.731
Source: FIVB
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers


6 August 2016 (2016-08-06)
17:05
United States   3–0   Puerto Rico Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Attendance: 6,832
Referees: Taoufik Boudaya (TUN), Kang Joo-hee (KOR)
(25–17, 25–22, 25–17)
Result Statistics

8 August 2016 (2016-08-08)
17:05
Serbia   3–0   Puerto Rico Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Attendance: 5,730
Referees: Kang Joo-hee (KOR), Andrey Zenovich (RUS)
(29–27, 25–18, 25–20)
Result Statistics

10 August 2016 (2016-08-10)
09:30
China   3–0   Puerto Rico Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Attendance: 4,386
Referees: Heike Kraft (GER), Kang Joo-hee (KOR)
(25–20, 25–17, 25–18)
Result Statistics

12 August 2016 (2016-08-12)
17:05
Netherlands   3–0   Puerto Rico Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Attendance: 6,742
Referees: Ibrahim Al-Naama (QAT), Hernán Casamiquela (ARG)
(25–14, 25–22, 25–16)
Result Statistics

14 August 2016 (2016-08-14)
15:00
Italy   3–0   Puerto Rico Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Attendance: 7,225
Referees: Kang Joo-hee (KOR), Patricia Rolf (USA)
(25–14, 25–13, 25–22)
Result Statistics

Weightlifting

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Puerto Rico has qualified one female weightlifter for the Rio Olympics by virtue of a top four national finish at the 2016 Pan American Championships. The team must allocate this place by June 20, 2016.

Athlete Event Snatch Clean & Jerk Total Rank
Result Rank Result Rank
Lely Burgos Women's −53 kg 72 9 90 8 162 9

Wrestling

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Puerto Rico has qualified two wrestlers for each of the following weight classes into the Olympic competition, as a result of their semifinal triumphs at the 2016 Pan American Qualification Tournament.[31][32]

Key:

  • VT – Victory by Fall.
  • PP – Decision by Points – the loser with technical points.
  • PO – Decision by Points – the loser without technical points.
  • ST – Technical superiority – the loser without technical points and a margin of victory of at least 8 (Greco-Roman) or 10 (freestyle) points.
Men's freestyle
Athlete Event Qualification Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Repechage 1 Repechage 2 Final / BM
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Franklin Gómez −65 kg Bye   Novachkov (BUL)
W 3–1 PP
  Navruzov (UZB)
L 1–3 PP
Did not advance 9
Jaime Espinal −86 kg Bye   Yaşar (TUR)
L 1–3 PP
Did not advance Bye   Salas (CUB)
L 1–3 PP
Did not advance 11

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Comité Ejecutivo del COPUR selecciona a Jaime Espinal abanderado Olímpico 2016" [COPUR's executive committee selected Jaime Espinal to be the flag bearer at the 2016 Olympics]. Puerto Rico Olympic Committee. 13 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Puerto Rico viaja con 41 atletas a los Juegos Olímpicos de Río 2016" [Puerto Rico sends 41 athletes to the 2016 Rio Olympics]. El Diario La Prensa. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Puerto Rican Olympic Delegation Receives Island's Flag". Caribbean Business. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Puerto Rico Shines at Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony". Caribbean Business. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Monica Puig Makes Olympic History Winning Puerto Rico's First Gold Medal". NPR. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Rio Olympics: Monica Puig wins Puerto Rico's first ever gold". The Guardian. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Rafa Quintero logra 7ma posición en la final" [Rafa Quintero finished seventh in the final] (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: Telemundo. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Culson Disqualified in Olympics Finals". Caribbean Business. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  9. ^ "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  10. ^ "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Jeyvier Cintrón se convierte en primer boxeador en clasificar a dos Olimpiadas" [Jeyvier Cintrón becomes the first boxer to qualify for his second Olympics] (in Spanish). Puerto Rico Olympic Committee. 28 April 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  12. ^ "First 60 boxers from 24 countries confirmed for Rio 2016 as early Olympic quota places taken up". AIBA. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  13. ^ "UCI announces men's road Olympic quotas". Cyclingnews.com. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Rio 2016: Diving – Participating Athletes". FINA. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  15. ^ Villa, Juan (9 March 2016). "Carmel Valley equestrian heading to Rio Olympics". The Salinas Californian. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  16. ^ "Six nations make Olympic and Paralympic débuts at Rio 2016 equestrian events". FEI. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ Ayala Gordián, José (30 May 2016). "Judokas Melissa Mojica y María Pérez clasificaron a las Olimpiadas" [Judokas Melissa Monica and María Pérez qualified for the Olympics] (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Quota Places by Nation and Number". www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  20. ^ "US shooters lead the way as 20 places at Rio 2016 are won at Pan-American Games". Rio 2016. 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  21. ^ "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  23. ^ Marshall, Ian (1 April 2016). "Youngest and Oldest Book Places, the Generation Game in Santiago". ITTF. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  24. ^ "Eleven countries book Rio 2016 places at taekwondo Pan American Qualification Tournament". World Taekwondo Federation. 11 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  25. ^ "ITF announces entries for Rio 2016 Olympics". International Tennis Federation. 30 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  26. ^ "La tenista puertorriqueña Mónica Puig se clasifica para Río 2016" [Puerto Rico's tennis star Monica Puig qualifies for Rio 2016] (in Spanish). Univision. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  27. ^ "Sube a 41 la delegación puertorriqueña a Río" [Puerto Rican delegation for Rio has gone up to 41] (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Puerto Rico seal the ticket to Rio de Janeiro". FIVB. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  29. ^ "Equipos del Grupo B anuncian sus cortes para las Olimpiadas" (in Spanish). 15 July 2016.
  30. ^ "Puerto Rico FIVB Olympic Profile". FIVB. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  31. ^ "Wrestling for Rio 2016". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  32. ^ "Cubans Push 5 into Freestyle Finals at Pan American Olympic Qualifier". United World Wrestling. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
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