The Barbados Olympic Association registered a total of 12 athletes, 7 men and 5 women, to compete in five different sports at these Games, doubling the nation's roster size from London 2012.[2] Among the sports played by the athletes, Barbados marked its Olympic debut in tennis and triathlon, and the return of females to the team for the first time after sending only men to the previous Games.
The Barbadian team featured only two returning Olympians; skeet shooter Michael Maskell, who staged a comeback in Rio for his fifth Olympic appearance as the most experienced member after a twelve-year absence, and sprinter Ramon Gittens, who became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1]
Barbados, however, failed to win a single Olympic medal since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where sprinter Obadele Thompson took the bronze in the men's 100 metres.
Barbados has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Michael Maskell, who will compete at his fifth Olympics, in the men's skeet, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was met by 31 March 2016. This also signified the nation's comeback to the sport for the first time since 2004.[5][6]
Barbados has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Darian King (world no. 278) in the men's singles into the Olympic tennis tournament, signifying the nation's debut in the sport.[9][10]
Barbados has entered one triathlete to compete at the Games, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport. Jason Wilson was ranked among the top 40 eligible triathletes in the men's event based on the ITU Olympic Qualification List as of 15 May 2016.[11]
