Kiribati at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Kiribati had interest in Olympic participation in the 1980s, and the country later formed their National Olympic Committee (NOC) in 2002, which was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2003.^[1]: 311 Kiribati's first Games was in 2004.^[2] The 2016 Olympics were Kiribati's fourth Games. In past Games, I-Kiribati have participated in weightlifting and athletics.^[3]

As of these Olympics, Kiribati has not won an Olympic medal.^[3] David Katoatau reprised his role as Kiribati's opening ceremonies flag bearer for the third consecutive Olympics.^[4] He received media attention due to the effort he put into the task.^[5] Kiribati did not have a closing ceremony flag bearer, and a volunteer performed the task.^[6]

Kiribati received universality slots from IAAF to send two athletes (one male and one female) to the Olympics. Since they qualified via universality slots, both athletes competed in the preliminary heats.^[7][8] Both athletes said they did not get enough practice time using blocks. They also did not get to practice much, since the main stadium in the capital city—Bairiki Stadium—is made of sand and often flooded.^[8]

Eighteen year old Karitaake Tewaaki competed in the 100 meter dash.^[9] This was her first Olympic Games.^[10] She finished eighth out of eight competitors in her heat, with a time of 14.70. She was eliminated from competition and did not advance to the next round.^[11]

John Ruuka turned 21 during the Olympics, which were his first.^[9][12] He ran the 100 meter dash in 11.65 seconds, 0.26 seconds away from the personal best he set the month prior.^[13] He finished sixth of seven in his heat, beating Hermenegildo Leite of Angola.^[14]

Track & road events