Two Tanzanian swimmers, one male and one female, qualified for the Olympics. Hilal Hemed Hilal received a universality place, designated for nations with no athletes who met the qualification standards, to compete in the men's 50 m freestyle. Hilal took up competitive swimming in 2009 and was a member of the Taliss Swim Club. He had competed previously in the 50 m freestyle and the 50 m butterfly at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships, as well as the 50 m freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke at the Commonwealth Games. He had also won a bronze medal at the 2016 African Swimming Confederation Zone 4 Championships in the 50 m butterfly. In Rio, Hilal was placed in heat four and won it in a national record-setting time of 23.70, which was nearly a second ahead of his nearest competitor, Farhan Farhan of Bahrain. His time, however, was still too slow to qualify him for the semi-finals, as he was 49th overall and thus not among the top 16 overall finishers who advanced.