Kiribati at the 2004 Summer Olympics Kiribati at the 2004 Summer Olympics Kiribati competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from August 13–29, 2004. The country sent three representatives to the Games: two in athletics and one in weightlifting. 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. The 2004 Olympics were Kiribati's first Games, along with East Timor. Kiribati had interest in Olympic participation in the 1980s, and the country later formed their National Olympic Committee (NOC) in 2002,
Summer Olympic Games demand for tickets to all levels of each event, there was controversy when seats set aside for sponsors and National Delegations went unused in the early days. A system of reallocation was put in place so the empty seats were filled throughout the Games. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics, becoming the third city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the Olympic Games after Melbourne, Australia, in 1956 and Sydney, Australia, in 2000, and the first South American city to host the Olympics. The preparation for these Games was overshadowed by controversies, including the instability of Brazil's