Belize at the 2008 Summer Olympics
| Belize at the 2008 Summer Olympics |
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| IOC code | BIZ | ||||||||
| NOC | Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association | ||||||||
| in Beijing | |||||||||
| Competitors | 4 in 2 sports | ||||||||
| Flag bearer | Jonathan Williams | ||||||||
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Medals Ranked -th |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
Belize competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from 8 to 24 August 2008. Its participation in Beijing marked its eighth Olympic appearance under the name "Belize" and its tenth overall, as its first two appearances (1968 in Mexico City and 1972 in Munich) were under the name "British Honduras". The Belizean delegation in 2008 included four athletes: three participated in track and field events (Jonathan Williams, Tricia Flores, and Jayson Jones) and one in taekwondo (Alfonso Martínez). Belize did not medal in Beijing, and had not medaled before Beijing, but Jonathan Williams became the first Belizean athlete to advance past the first round of any Olympic event.
Belize first participated in the Olympic games at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and has appeared in every Summer Olympics since with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union, represented by a total of 46 competitors. Belize was a British colony during the 1968 Mexico City Games and the 1972 Munich Games and participated under the name "British Honduras". Between 1968 and 2008 Belize had no medalists. Jonathan Williams, Belize's flag bearer in Beijing, was the first Belizean Olympian to advance past a preliminary round.
German-born runner Jayson Jones, who played football for Florida State University, represented Belize at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens despite an injury, but chose not to attend and thus his appearance at Beijing marked his third qualification but second appearance at the Olympic games. At the Olympics Jones participated in the 200 meters dash. He was placed in Heat 6 during the first round of the event on 17 August; competitors in his heat included American Wallace Spearmon, Norwegian Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, and Guinean Nabie Foday Fofonah. Jones ran the event in 21.54 seconds, ranking sixth out of the eight athletes in the heat, scoring 0.14 seconds faster than Fofanah, and 0.34 seconds behind Latvia's Ronalds Arājs (5th place). Overall, Jones ranked 53rd place out of 66 athletes. He did not progress to the next round on 18 August.
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