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 code	PUR
NOC	Puerto Rico Olympic Committee
Website	www.copur.pr (in Spanish)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	40 in 15 sports
Flag bearer	Jaime Espinal^[1]
Medals Ranked 54th	Gold 1 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020

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

Further information: 2016 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 2016 Summer Olympics medal winners

Medal Name Sport Event Date   Gold Monica Puig Tennis Women's singles August 13

Medals by sport Sport       Total Tennis 1 0 0 1 Total 1 0 0 1

Medals by date Date       Total August 13 1 0 0 0 Total 1 0 0 1

 

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

Athletics (track and field)

Main article: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Boxing at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Cycling at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Road

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

Main article: Diving at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Equestrian at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

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

Main article: Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Shooting at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Indoor

Women's tournament

Main article: Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

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]

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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 v t e	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 v	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 v	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 v	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 v	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 v	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

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

Main article: Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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

• Puerto Rico at the 2015 Pan American Games
• Puerto Rico at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

References

1. [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. "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 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. . 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. . Rio 2016. 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
21. . FINA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
22. (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
23. Marshall, Ian (1 April 2016). . 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. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
25. . 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. . United World Wrestling. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.

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