Lebanon at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Lebanon at the 2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code	LIB
NOC	Lebanese Olympic Committee
Website	www.lebolymp.org
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	9 in 7 sports
Flag bearer	Nacif Elias[1]
Medals	Gold Silver Bronze Total 0 0 0 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

Lebanon competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventeenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. Lebanon did not attend the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne as a response to the Suez Crisis.

The Lebanese Olympic Committee sent a total of nine athletes, four men and five women, to compete in seven sports at the Games.^[2] The Lebanese team featured two returning Olympians from London 2012: American-born foil fencer Mona Shaito and world's top-ranked shooter Ray Bassil in the women's trap. Almost half of the roster, including Bassil and slalom canoeist Richard Merjan, were granted invitations by the Tripartite Commission to the Games, due to their recent achievements.^[3] Meanwhile, half-middleweight judoka and Brazil-raised athlete Nacif Elias, who was later disqualified for an allegedly illegal joint lock on Argentina's Emmanuel Lucenti in his opening bout, led the Lebanese squad as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.^[1][4]

Lebanon, however, failed to win its first Olympic medal, since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where Greco-Roman wrestler Hassan Bchara took the bronze in the super heavyweight category.

Athletics

Lebanese athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):^[5][6]

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
Ahmad Hazer	Men's 110 m hurdles	15.50	7	Did not advance
Chirine Njeim	Women's marathon	N/A				2:51:08	109

Canoeing

Slalom

Lebanon received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Richard Merjan in the men's C-1 race, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.^[2]

Athlete	Event	Preliminary						Semifinal		Final
		Run 1	Rank	Run 2	Rank	Best	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Richard Merjan	Men's C-1	120.20	18	121.67	16	120.20	19	Did not advance

Fencing

Lebanon entered one fencer into the Olympic competition. London 2012 Olympian Mona Shaito secured a spot in the women's foil as one of the two highest-ranked fencers from Asia outside the world's top 14 in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings.^[7] She lost in her first bout.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Mona Shaito	Women's foil	Bye	Kiefer (USA) L 3–15	Did not advance

Judo

Lebanon qualified one judoka for the men's half-middleweight category (81 kg) at the Games. Nacif Elias was ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.^[8][2] He lost in his first match.

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
Nacif Elias	Men's −81 kg	Bye	Lucenti (ARG) L 000–100	Did not advance

Shooting

Lebanon has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send London 2012 Olympian Ray Bassil in the women's trap, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was met by March 31, 2016.^[2][9] She failed to advance past the preliminary round.

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Semifinal		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Ray Bassil	Women's trap	65	14	Did not advance

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

Swimming

Lebanon received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.^[10][11][12] Both swimmers failed to advance past the preliminary round.

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Anthony Barbar	Men's 50 m freestyle	23.77	50	Did not advance
Gabrielle Doueihy	Women's 400 m freestyle	4:31.21	31	N/A		Did not advance

Table tennis

Lebanon entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games. Mariana Sahakian secured the Olympic spot in the women's singles as the highest-ranked table tennis player coming from the West Asia zone at the Asian Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong.^[13] She lost and was eliminated in her first match.

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
Mariana Sahakian	Women's singles	Oshonaike (NGR) L 3–4	Did not advance

References

1. Lucente, Adam (4 August 2016). "Top Brazilian judo fighter comes home to Lebanon for Rio Olympics". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
2. "These are the Lebanese athletes who will represent our country in 2016 Rio Olympic Games". Sports 961. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
3. Khalaf, Rayana (9 June 2016). "8 Lebanese athletes set to compete at Rio 2016". StepFeed. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
4. Khalaf, Rayana (12 August 2016). "Disqualification of Lebanese athlete #Rio2016 stirs controversy". StepFeed. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
5. "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
6. "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
7. "Russia top as Olympic qualification by ranking ends". FIE. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
8. "IJF Officially Announces Qualified Athletes for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". International Judo Federation. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
9. "Quota Places by Nation and Number". www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
10. "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
11. "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
12. "Rio 2016 Olympic Games: 9 Lebanese Athletes to Watch!". Sports 961. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
13. Marshall, Ian (14 April 2016). "Dramatic Decider, Neda Shahsavari Recovers from Brink to Secure Olympic Place". ITTF. Retrieved 14 April 2016.