Long-distance runner Celma Bonfim da Graça, who was making her Olympic debut, was 30 years old at the time, making her São Tomé and Príncipe's oldest competitor at these Games. At the time, she was the country's oldest Olympian ever, a record she would herself beat at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On 19 August 2008 she took part in the first heat of the women's 5,000 metres, a heat she finished in 17 minutes and 25.99 seconds. This was in 16th and last place of that race, and she did not qualify for the final.