Niger at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Niger at the 2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code	NIG
NOC	Nigerien Olympic and National Sports Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	6 in 4 sports
Flag bearer	Abdoul Razak Issoufou[1]
Medals Ranked 69th	Gold Silver Bronze Total 0 1 0 1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1964 1968 1972 1976–1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

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.

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

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

Athletics

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

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

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

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

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

1. "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. 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. 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. Retrieved 8 February 2016.