# 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.
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. 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.
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. The most successful athlete of the previous Games, Espinal was selected to lead his delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.
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. 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.

## Medalists

| 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 |

## Athletics (track and field)

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

### 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

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Eric Alejandro | 400 m hurdles | 49.54 | 2 Q | 49.95 | 7 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Andrés Arroyo | 800 m | 1:46.17 | 3 Q | 1:46.74 | 7 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Javier Culson | 400 m hurdles | 48.53 | 2 Q | 48.46 | 2 Q | DSQ | DSQ |
| Wesley Vázquez | 800 m | 1:46.96 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Grace Claxton | 400 m hurdles | 56.40 | 3 Q | 55.85 PB | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Celiangeli Morales | 200 m | 23.00 PB | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Jasmine Quinn | 100 m hurdles | 12.70 | 1 Q | DSQ | DSQ | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Beverly Ramos | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:43:52 | 71 |

### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Luis Castro | Men's high jump | 2.26 | =12 q | 2.25 | 13 |
| David Adley Smith II | Men's high jump | 2.26 | 23 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Diamara Planell | Women's pole vault | 4.15 | =29 | Did not advance | 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 |
| Alysbeth Felix | Points | 968 | 830 | 619 | 911 | 918 | 671 | 888 | 5805 | 26 |

## Boxing

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

## Cycling
### 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.
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Brian Babilonia | Men's road race | Did not finish | Did not finish |

## Diving

Puerto Rico has entered one diver into the Olympic competition by virtue of a top 18 finish at the 2016 FINA World Cup series.
| Athlete | Event | Preliminaries | Preliminaries | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | 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

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. This signified the nation's Olympic return to the sport of equestrian for the first time since 2004.

### Eventing

| Athlete | Horse | Event | Dressage | Dressage | Cross-country | Cross-country | Cross-country | Jumping | Jumping | Jumping | Jumping | Jumping | Jumping | Total | Total |
| Athlete | Horse | Event | Dressage | Dressage | Cross-country | Cross-country | Cross-country | Qualifier | Qualifier | Qualifier | Final | Final | Final | | | Total | Total |
| Athlete | Horse | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | 155.40 | 44 |

## Judo

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.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Melissa Mojica | Women's +78 kg | Bye | Sayit (TUR) L 000–102 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Shooting

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.
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Yarimar Mercado | Women's 10 m air rifle | 406.6 | 43 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Yarimar Mercado | Women's 50 m rifle 3 positions | 576 | 24 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

## Swimming

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

## Table tennis

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.
| Athlete | Event | Preliminary | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Adriana Diaz | Women's singles | Bye | Oshonaike (NGR) W 4–2 | Li X (FRA) L 0–4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Taekwondo

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.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Tennis

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.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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

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.
| 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
### Indoor
#### 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.

##### Team roster

The following is the Puerto Rican roster in the women's volleyball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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 | Teamvte | 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 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Serbia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 2.000 | 410 | 394 | 1.041 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | China | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 1.000 | 398 | 389 | 1.023 | Quarter-finals |
| 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 | |

## Weightlifting

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

## Wrestling

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.
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 | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 9 |
| Jaime Espinal | −86 kg | Bye | Yaşar (TUR) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Bye | Salas (CUB) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Did not advance | 11 |