Four American Samoan athletes, three men and one woman, were selected for the Games, competing only in athletics, judo, and weightlifting; all of them made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro through wild card entries and universality places, without having qualified. Among the nation's athletes were American-born sprinters Isaac Silafau and Jordan Mageo (the lone female of the team), lightweight judoka Benjamin Waterhouse (men's 73 kg), and weightlifter Tanumafili Jungblut, who led the delegation as American Samoa's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1][2] American Samoa, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
American Samoa has qualified one judoka for the men's lightweight category (73 kg) at the Games. Benjamin Waterhouse earned a continental quota spot from the Oceania region as the nation's lone judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.[5]
American Samoa has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send Tanumafili Jungblut in the men's middle-heavyweight category (94 kg) to the Olympics, signifying the nation's Olympic return to the sport for the first time since 2004.