Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics | |
---|---|
IOC code | ESP |
NOC | Spanish Olympic Committee |
Website | www |
in London | |
Competitors | 278 in 23 sports |
Flag bearers | Pau Gasol (opening) [1] Saúl Craviotto (closing)[2] |
Medals Ranked 17th |
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Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Spain competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed in every Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1920. Spain, however, boycotted two editions, the 1936 Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany, and the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Spanish Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1988. A total of 278 athletes, 166 men and 112 women, competed in 23 sports.
Spain left London with a total of 17 Olympic medals (3 gold, 10 silver, and 4 bronze), failing a single medal short of the total achieved in Beijing. Three of these medals were awarded to the team in taekwondo and canoeing, and two each in sailing, swimming, and synchronized swimming. Three Spanish athletes won more than a single medal in London, while all of their competitors in synchronized swimming and taekwondo won at least one medal. Spain's team-based athletes also proved successful in London, as the women's handball and water polo teams won silver and bronze medals, respectively. The men's basketball team managed to repeat its silver medal from Beijing. At these Olympic games, Spain, however, did not win an Olympic medal in tennis, for the first time since it was reintroduced as a full-medal sport in 1988, and in cycling for the first time since that same year. On 21 November 2016, a fourth gold medal was assigned to Spain's Lidia Valentín in Weightlifting (Women's 75 kg) after the IOC disqualified the original medalists in the event for failing doping tests at the games.[3]
Among the nation's medalists were sailor Marina Alabau in women's windsurfing, and sprint kayaker Saúl Craviotto, who previously won gold in Beijing. Three athletes won Spain's first ever Olympic medals in their respective disciplines: triathlete Javier Gómez Noya, slalom kayaker Maialen Chourraut, and freestyle wrestler Maider Unda. Sprint canoer David Cal, who won silver in London, became the first Spanish athlete in history to win a total of five Olympic medals.[4] Meanwhile, Mireia Belmonte became the first Spanish swimmer in history to win two Olympic medals.
Medalists
Delegation
The Spanish Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico Español, COE) selected a team of 278 athletes, 166 men and 112 women, to compete in 23 sports; it was the nation's sixth-largest team sent to the Olympics, but the smallest since 1988. Spain did not qualify athletes in fencing, modern pentathlon, and rowing, but there was only a single competitor in women's freestyle wrestling. Athletics was the largest team by sport, with a total of 46 competitors.
The Spanish team featured several Olympic medalists from Beijing, including sailors Iker Martínez and Xabier Fernández in the open skiff class, and sprint canoer David Cal, who won the silver in two of his events. Race walker Jesús Ángel García became the second Spanish athlete to compete in six Olympic games, tying the record set by former water polo player Manuel Estiarte. Meanwhile, another race walker María Vasco, and field hockey player Pablo Amat competed at their fifth Olympics. Table tennis player He Zhi Wen, at age 50, was the oldest athlete of the team, while rhythmic gymnast Lourdes Mohedano was the youngest at age 17.
Other notable Spanish athletes featured sprint kayaker and two-time world champion Saúl Craviotto, swimmer Mireia Belmonte García in the women's medley, butterfly, and freestyle events, tennis doubles specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues, and NBA basketball players Victor Claver and Serge Ibaka. Former world number-one male tennis player and defending Olympic champion Rafael Nadal was initially selected by the committee to carry the nation's flag, but he later withdrew from the Games because of an undisclosed injury.[5] On 20 July 2012, NBA basketball star Pau Gasol, who led his team by winning the silver medal in Beijing, replaced Nadal as Spain's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.[6]
The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves for fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes:
ArcherySpain had qualified one archer each in the men's and women's individual events.
AthleticsSpanish athletes qualified standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):[7][8]
Badminton
BasketballSpain's men basketball team qualified for the event by reaching the final of the EuroBasket 2011.[9]
Men's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain men's basketball team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball group B standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game B2 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game B5 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game B9 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game B10 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game B15
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game C2
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game D1
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball game E2 BoxingSpain qualified boxers for the following events.
CanoeingSlalomSpain qualified boats for the following events.
SprintSpain qualified boats for the following events
Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal) CyclingSpain qualified riders for the following events. Road
Track
Mountain biking
DivingSpain qualified two divers:
EquestrianDressageSpain qualified one team and three individual quota places after finishing in fifth place at the 2011 European Dressage Championship.
Field hockey
Men's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain men's field hockey team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey group A standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey game A2 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey game A4 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey game A9 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey game A12 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey game A15
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's field hockey game C4 FootballSpain's men football team qualified for the event by reaching the final of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[10]
Men's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain men's football team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's football group D standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's football game D1 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's football game D3 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's football game D6 GymnasticsArtistic
Rhythmic
Handball
Men's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain men's handball team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball group B standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball game B2 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball game B6 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball game B7 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball game B12 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball game B15
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's handball game C3 Women's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain women's handball team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball group B standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game B1 Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game B5 Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game B9 Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game B11 Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game B14
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game C3
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game D2
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's handball game E1 Judo
SailingSpain qualified 1 boat for each of the following events
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; ShootingSpain qualified for 8 quota places in shooting events;[11]
SwimmingSpanish swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):[12][13]
Synchronized swimmingSpain qualified 9 quota places in synchronized swimming at the 2012 Olympics.
Table tennisSpain qualified two athlete for singles table tennis events. Shen Yanfei qualified for the women's event based on the 2011 world rankings.[14] On 14 April 2012, He Zhi Wen qualified in the European Qualification Tournament for the men's event, and on 14 May 2012 at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Doha, Carlos Machado for the men's event; Galia Dvorak and Sara Ramírez completed the Spanish team for the women's team event, and one of them played the women's event too.
Taekwondo
TennisSpain qualified 12 players. The final list was announced on 11 June 2012.
TriathlonSpain qualified six athletes, the maximum as possible.
VolleyballBeach
Water poloSpain qualified a team to both the men's and the women's tournaments. Men's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain men's water polo team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo group A standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game A2 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game A4 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game A7 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game A11 Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game A14
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game C2
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game D1
Template:2012 Summer Olympics men's water polo game E2 Women's tournament
Template:2012 Summer Olympics Spain women's water polo team roster
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo group A standings Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo game A1 Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo game A4 Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo game A5
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo game C1
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo game F1
Template:2012 Summer Olympics women's water polo game G2 WeightliftingSpain qualified 1 man and 1 woman.
WrestlingKey:
Uniform controversySpain is suffering from an ongoing financial crisis. The Spanish Olympic team saved EUR1.5 million by obtaining free uniforms for the opening ceremony from the Russian sportswear company Bosco, which is a team sponsor and also provided the Russian and Ukrainian teams' outfits. Spanish athletes criticized the outfits' appearance as "loud, very loud", however, saying that "there aren't enough adjectives".[15] The Moscow Times described the uniforms' colors as "a never-before-seen mix of cherry red, orange and canary yellow",[16] and NPR stated that the outfits appeared designed for Ronald McDonald.[15] See alsoReferences
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