The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics concluded on August 21, after the amazing closing ceremony put on display by the people of Brazil.  The United States of America dominated the field, finishing with 46 gold medals, 37 silver medals, and 38 bronze medals, totaling a whopping 121 total medals.  The United States finished with 54 more medals than the second place country, Great Britain.  The city of Charleston, South Carolina was well represented at the Olympics with a total of 4 athletes competing for 4 different countries.  These athletes included Raven Saunders (USA), Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Puerto Rico), Carvin Nkanata (Kenya), and B.J. Hornikel (Germany).

Raven Saunders is a graduate of Burke High School and is a sophomore at The University of Mississippi.  This year, Saunders broke a collegiate outdoor shot put national record, winning the NCAA National Championship.  That is her 3rd national championship title, as she won 2 national championships at Southern Illinois University.  Saunders finished the Olympics with a throw of 19.35 meters, good enough to put her into 5th place.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, a graduate of Fort Dorchester High School, competed in the 100 meter hurdles.  Camacho-Quinn was in the lead of her race, but unfortunately tripped on the second to last hurdle and came in last place of the semifinal race, ending her Olympics.  Camacho-Quinn is a sophomore at the University of Kentucky and looks forward to participating in the 2020 Olympics.

Carvin Nkanata of the University of Pittsburgh is a Summerville native.  Nkanata graduated from Summerville High School and participated in the 200 meter sprint.  He did not make it past the first round, and ended up finishing 72 in the world, but still represented the city of Charleston well.

B.J. Hornikel attended high school at Stratford High School and now attends college at the University of Alabama.  A two-time state champion, and a seven-time US All-American at Alabama, he swam in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay.  Hornikel and his German teammates finished the Olympics with the 11th best time in the world.

With the Rio Olympics finally ending after 16 fantastic days, people are already looking forward to the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics.  The Charleston athletes that participated in the 2016 Olympics are already looking forward at competing for a spot in the 2020 Olympics.  How many athletes from the lowcountry will compete in 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo?