Puerto Rico Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since 1992 due to the presence of the men's basketball team. A total of 43 athletes, 32 men and 11 women, had competed in 15 sports, roughly larger by two thirds of the nation's team size from the previous Games. Five Puerto Rican athletes had previously competed in Sydney, including four-time Olympian and Tornado sailor Enrique Figueroa and freestyle swimmer and two-time Olympic finalist Ricardo Busquets. Men's basketball was the only team-based sport in which Puerto Rico had its representation at these Games. Because of the nation's emerging presence to the team sport, team captain and NBA's Utah Jazz player Carlos Arroyo was appointed by the committee to carry the Puerto Rican flag in the opening ceremony.[1] Puerto Rico also marked its Olympic debut in synchronized swimming and taekwondo.
Puerto Rico left Athens without receiving a single Olympic medal for the second consecutive time. Figueroa and his new partner Jorge Hernández achieved the nation's highest placement at these Games after finishing seventh in the Tornado class. Meanwhile, Mabel Fonseca originally claimed the fifth position in women's wrestling, but she committed an anti-doping violation, as she was tested positive for the steroid stanozolol.[2] Despite not winning a medal, the men’s basketball team secured a notable victory against the United States. The Puerto Ricans’ convincing 92-73 win against the three-time defending gold medalists was the United States team’s first Olympic loss since it began including NBA players in 1992, only its third Olympic loss overall, and as of 2021, its most lopsided Olympic loss ever.
Puerto Rican athletes have so far achieved qualifying 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).[3][4]
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
Puerto Rican swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time):
