Independent_Olympic_Athletes_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics
Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Sporting event delegation
Independent Olympic athletes competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. The team was composed of Kuwaiti athletes who competed under the Olympic flag, as the Kuwait Olympic Committee had been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the second time in five years due to governmental interference.[2][3][4]
In addition to the independent athletes, ten refugees were scheduled to compete under the Olympic flag as the Refugee Olympic Team, which constituted a separate team.
Kuwaiti shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani became the first independent athlete to win a gold medal.[5]