Kiribati at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Kiribati competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, from August 13–29, 2004. The country sent three representatives to the games: two in athletics and one in weightlifting.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2012, Meamea Thomas has the best finish of any I-Kiribati athlete in Olympic history. Kiribati did not win medals at these Games.

Background

The 2004 Olympics were Kiribati's first games, along with East Timor.<ref name=nz>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Weightlifter Meamea Thomas was the flagbearer for the Opening Ceremonies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the ceremony, the men wore grass skirts with braided hair belts. Kaitinano Mwemweata wore a skirt of coconut leaves with a woven grass top.<ref name=ht /> For the closing ceremonies, Mwemweata was the flagbearer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Athletics

Template:Main article Both athletes did not know they were going to compete until a couple of weeks prior to the Olympics. A competitor broke their foot, and another's fear of flying prevented their trip to the Games, opening up two spots for I-Kiribati athletes. The I-Kiribati athletes had to travel to Australia early so they could learn how to use starting blocks.<ref name=bbc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kakianako Nariki's competed in his first and only Olympics.<ref name=srkn>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nariki was afraid of being disqualified because there were false starts in his heat.<ref name=ht>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He ended up finishing seventh in his heat, with a time of 11.62, beating disqualified athlete Marc Burns.<ref name=srkn />

Kaitinano Mwemweata competed in the women's 100 meter dash.<ref name=srkm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She finished the race with a time of 13.07 seconds, a personal best she was excited about.<ref name=ht /> She finished seventh in her heat, failing to advance to the next round.<ref name=srkm />

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Kakianako Nariki	100 m	11.62	7	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Kaitinano Mwemweata	100 m	13.07	7	Did not advance

Weightlifting

Template:Main article Although Meamea Thomas won gold in the men's −85 kg in the Oceania Championships, he did not automatically qualify and later received a wildcard entry.<ref name=nz />

Thomas competed in the men's −85 kg weightlifting competition, finishing 17th in the snatch and 13th in the clean and jerk. Overall, he finished 13th out of 21 competitors.<ref>Seven competitors did not have a qualifying lift, leaving the eligible field at 14</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of the 2012 Olympics, Meamea Thomas has the highest finish of any I-Kiribati athlete in Olympic history.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Meamea Thomas	Men's −85 kg	130	17	162.5	13	292.5	13

External links

• Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad

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