American Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics
| American Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics |
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| IOC code | ASA | ||||||||
| NOC | American Samoa National Olympic Committee | ||||||||
| in Beijing | |||||||||
| Competitors | 4 in 3 sports | ||||||||
| Flag bearer | Silulu A'etonu | ||||||||
| Medals |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
American Samoa sent a team to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The U.S. territory selected four athletes to compete in three sports: swimming, athletics and judo. The dependency's participation in Beijing marked its seventh participation in any Olympic game since its debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and its sixth participation at any Summer Olympic games. Of the four American Samoan athletes who participated in Beijing, all four were first-time Olympians and born outside of American Samoa and none of the four advanced past the qualification or preliminary rounds of their events. More women participated in the 2008 American Samoan Olympic delegation than in any one delegation in its Olympic history. Judoka Silulu A'etonu was the territory's flagbearer at the ceremonies.
American Samoa is a territory of the United States that lies in the South Pacific Ocean to the far east of Australia. The dependency's debut at the Olympics was at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Between 1988 and 2008, American Samoa sent a delegation to participate at seven Olympic games (six Summer Olympics and one Winter Olympics), not missing a single Summer Olympics since its first time in the competition. In 2008, American Samoa's delegation was composed of four athletes, including two women, which is the greatest number of women to have competed for American Samoa at any one games.
Silulu A'etonu, a first-time Olympian and a judoka, was American Samoa's flagbearer at the ceremonies.
Nineteen-year-old Los Angeles area-born athlete Shanahan Sanitoa participated on American Samoa's behalf at the Beijing Olympics. He was the only American Samoan Olympian involved in any track and field event. Also, his appearance in Beijing marked the first time he appeared in an Olympic games. He participated in the fifth heat during the August 14 qualification round, completing the event in 12.60 seconds and placing last in his heat of eight athletes. Danny D'Souza of the Seychelles ranked just ahead of Sanitoa (11.00 seconds). The leaders of Sanitoa's heat included the United States' Tyson Gay (10.22 seconds) and Nigeria's Olusoji Fasuba (10.29 seconds). Overall, the American Samoan runner ranked last out of the 80 athletes who participated in the qualification round. He did not progress to later rounds.
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