Panama at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Panama at the 2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code	PAN
NOC	Comité Olímpico de Panamá
Website	www.copanama.com (Spanish)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	10 in 7 sports
Flag bearer	Alonso Edward[1]
Medals	Gold Silver Bronze Total 0 0 0 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1928 1932–1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

Panama 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, since its debut in 1928.

Panama Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico de Panamá) sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since 1968, with the women outnumbering the men for the first time in its history. A total of 10 athletes, 4 men and 6 women, were selected to the Panamanian squad across seven sports.^[2] Artistic gymnastics and women's boxing were the only sporting events in which Panama had its debut in Rio de Janeiro.

Among the nation's athletes on the roster, three of them returned from London 2012, including taekwondo fighter Carolena Carstens (women's 57 kg), breaststroke swimmer Edgar Crespo, who attended his third straight Games as the most experienced competitor, and sprinter Alonso Edward, who was nominated by the committee to carry the Panamanian flag at the opening ceremony.^[1][3]

Panama, however, failed to win a single Olympic medal, since the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where Irving Saladino became the nation's first ever champion in the long jump. At the Games, Edward improved upon his false start disaster from London 2012 to produce Panama's most substantial result with a seventh-place finish in the final of the men's 200 metres.^[4]

Athletics (track and field)

Panamanian 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
Alonso Edward	Men's 200 m	20.19	1 Q	20.07	1 Q	20.23	7
Jorge Castelblanco	Men's marathon	N/A				2:39:25	135
Yvette Lewis	Women's 100 m hurdles	13.35	8	Did not advance

Boxing

Panama has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a female boxer competing in the middleweight division to the Games.^[7][8]

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Atheyna Bylon	Women's middleweight	Bandeira (BRA) L 1–2	Did not advance

Fencing

Panama has entered one fencer into the Olympic competition, signifying the country's return to the sport after an eight-year hiatus. Eileen Grench received a spare Olympic berth freed up by Dominican Republic's Rossy Félix, who was ordered a two-month suspension from FIE for her acts of disobedience, as the next highest-ranked fencer, not yet qualified, in the women's sabre at the Pan American Zonal Qualifier in San José, Costa Rica.^[9]

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
Eileen Grench	Women's sabre	Aoki (JPN) W 15–5	Zagunis (USA) L 4–15	Did not advance

Gymnastics

Artistic

Panama has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a female gymnast to the Games, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.^[10]

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		V	UB	BB	F			V	UB	BB	F
Isabella Amado	All-around	13.900	12.733	13.333	12.866	52.832	44	Did not advance

Shooting

Panama has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a men's pistol shooter to the Olympics, signifying the nation's comeback to the sport for the first time since 2000.^[11][12]

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
David Muñoz	Men's 10 m air pistol	563	46	Did not advance
	Men's 50 m pistol	528	40	Did not advance

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

Swimming

Panama has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.^[13][14]

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Edgar Crespo	Men's 100 m breaststroke	1:02.78	41	Did not advance
María Far Núñez	Women's 200 m butterfly	2:23.89	27	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Panama entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics. 2012 Olympian Carolena Carstens secured a spot in the women's lightweight category (57 kg) by virtue of her top two finish at the 2016 Pan American Qualification Tournament in Aguascalientes, Mexico.^[15]

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Carolena Carstens	Women's −57 kg	Asemani (BEL) L 1–13 PTG	Did not advance

See also

• Panama at the 2015 Pan American Games

References

1. Calvo, Rafael (17 July 2016). "Alonso Edward, el abanderado para Rio 2016" [Alonso Edward, the flagbearer for Rio 2016] (in Spanish). Panama City, Panama: La Prensa. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
2. "Delegación con diez atletas a Río, 2016" [Delegation of ten athletes in Rio 2016] (in Spanish). La Estrella de Panamá. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
3. Rodríguez, Tomás (16 July 2016). "Alonso Edward abanderado de Panamá para los Juegos Olímpicos de Río" [Alonso Edward will be Panama's flag bearer for the Rio Olympics] (in Spanish). Panama: TVN. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
4. "Alonso Edward es séptimo en los 200 metros de Río 2016" [Alonso Edward finished seventh in the 200 metres of Rio 2016] (in Spanish). RPC-TV. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 28 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. Alfaro, Julio (22 June 2016). "Atheyna Bylon va a los Juegos Olímpicos Río 2016" [Atheyna Bylon goes to the 2016 Rio Olympics] (in Spanish). La Estrella de Panamá.
8. "Rio 2016 Olympic Games Tripartite Commission designates women boxing quota places to Central African Republic, Federated States of Micronesia and Panama". AIBA. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
9. "Eileen Grench irá a Río" [Eileen Grench will go to Rio] (in Spanish). La Estrella de Panamá. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
10. "Lists of Rio 2016 qualifiers updated in Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline Gymnastics". FIG. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
11. "Quota Places by Nation and Number". www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
12. "El tirador David Muñoz también irá a Río 2016" [Shooter David Muñoz will go to Rio 2016] (in Spanish). Comité Olímpico de Panamá. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
13. "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
14. "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
15. "Eleven countries book Rio 2016 places at taekwondo Pan American Qualification Tournament". World Taekwondo Federation. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.