Somalia at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The country's participation at Rio de Janeiro marked its ninth in the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1972.Efforts were hampered by the ongoing Somali Civil War, both in access for the scouts and because athletes were fleeing the fighting.Samia Yusuf Omar, who represented the national at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, drowned off the Libyan coast while attempting to reach Europe by boat in 2012.[3] Other Somali nationals competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, but under the citizenships of other countries; these included Mo Farah, for Great Britain and Mohammed Ahmed, for Canada.[2] Mohamed competed on 17 August in the first heat of the 5000 metres, finishing in 24th position out of the 25 runners, only ahead of Rosefelo Siosi of the Solomon Islands, thus eliminating him from the competition.