Spain competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed in all but two Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1920. Spain boycotted two editions, the 1936 Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany and the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Hungary. In 2012, the Spanish Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1988. A total of 278 athletes, 166 men and 112 women, competed in 23 sports.
Spain left London with a total of 17 Olympic medals (3 gold, 10 silver, and 4 bronze), failing short of the total achieved in Beijing by a single medal. Three of the medals were awarded in taekwondo and canoeing, and two each in sailing, swimming, and synchronized swimming. Three Spanish athletes won more than a single medal in London, while all of their competitors in synchronized swimming and taekwondo won at least one medal. Spain's competitors in team sports also proved successful in London, as the women's handball and water polo teams won silver and bronze medals respectively. The men's basketball team managed to repeat its silver medal from Beijing. Spain, however, did not win an Olympic medal in tennis for the first time since it was reintroduced as a full-medal sport in 1988, and in cycling for the first time since that same year. On 21 November 2016, a fourth gold medal was assigned to Spain's Lydia Valentín in Weightlifting (Women's 75 kg) after the IOC disqualified the original medallists in the event for failing doping tests at the Games.[3] In 2021, another two bronze medals were assigned to Spain's Ruth Beitia in Athletics high jump and Alfonso Benavides in Canoeing C-1 200 metres after the IOC disqualified the original bronze medalists in the events for failing doping tests at the Games. These make Spain finally get 20 medals with 4 golds.
Among the nation's medallists were sailor Marina Alabau in women's windsurfing, and sprint kayaker Saúl Craviotto, who previously won gold in Beijing. Three athletes won Spain's first ever Olympic medals in their respective disciplines: triathlete Javier Gómez Noya, slalom kayaker Maialen Chourraut, and freestyle wrestler Maider Unda. Sprint canoer David Cal, who won silver in London, became the first Spanish athlete in history to win a total of five Olympic medals.[4] Meanwhile, Mireia Belmonte became the first Spanish swimmer in history to win two Olympic medals.
The Spanish Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico Español, COE) selected a team of 278 athletes, 166 men and 112 women, to compete in 23 sports; it was the nation's sixth-largest team sent to the Olympics, but the smallest since 1988. Spain did not qualify athletes in fencing, modern pentathlon, and rowing, but there was only a single competitor in women's freestyle wrestling. Athletics was the largest team by sport, with a total of 46 competitors.
The Spanish team featured several Olympic medalists from Beijing, including sailors Iker Martínez and Xabier Fernández in the open skiff class, and sprint canoer David Cal, who won the silver in two of his events. Race walker Jesús Ángel García became the second Spanish athlete to compete in six Olympic Games, tying the record set by former water polo player Manuel Estiarte. Meanwhile, another race walker María Vasco, and field hockey player Pablo Amat competed at their fifth Olympics. Table tennis player He Zhi Wen, at age 50, was the oldest athlete of the team, while rhythmic gymnast Lourdes Mohedano was the youngest at age 17.
Other notable Spanish athletes featured sprint kayaker and two-time world champion Saúl Craviotto, swimmer Mireia Belmonte in the women's medley, butterfly, and freestyle events, tennis doubles specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues, and NBA basketball players Víctor Claver and Serge Ibaka. Former world number-one male tennis player and defending Olympic champion Rafael Nadal was initially selected by the committee to carry the nation's flag, but he later withdrew from the Games because of an undisclosed injury.[5] On 20 July 2012, NBA basketball star Pau Gasol, who led his team by winning the silver medal in Beijing, replaced Nadal as Spain's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.[6]
The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves for fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes:
Spanish athletes qualified standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):[7][8]
Key
Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
Spanish swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):[35][36]
As Spain was suffering from the 2008–2014 financial crisis, the Spanish Olympic team saved EUR1.5 million by obtaining free uniforms for the opening ceremony from the Russian sportswear company Bosco, which was a team sponsor and also provided the Russian and Ukrainian teams' outfits. Spanish athletes criticized the outfits' appearance as "loud, very loud", however, saying that "there aren't enough adjectives".[40]The Moscow Times described the uniforms' colors as "a never-before-seen mix of cherry red, orange and canary yellow",[41] and NPR stated that the outfits appeared designed for Ronald McDonald.[40]
^"Spain – Japan". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
^"Spain – Honduras". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 29 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^"Spain – Morocco". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
