Laos at the 2012 Summer Olympics

{{infobox country at games

| NOC = LAO

| NOCname = National Olympic Committee of Laos

| games = Summer Olympics

| year = 2012

| flagcaption =

| oldcode =

| website =

| location = London

| competitors = 3

| sports = 2

| flagbearer = Kilakone Siphonexay

| rank =

| gold = 0

| silver = 0

| bronze = 0

| officials =

| appearances = auto

| app_begin_year =

| app_end_year =

| summerappearances =

| winterappearances =

| seealso =

}}

Laos competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London when the event took place from 27 July to 12 August 2012. It was the nation's eighth overall appearance following their Olympic debut in 1980. Laos had previously competed in seven consecutive Olympics prior to London apart from the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott. Two athletes and one swimmer were selected to the Laotian Olympic team after the country did not qualify any competitors.

Sprinter Kilakone Siphonexay was the nation's flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies. At the Olympics, Siphonexay and runner Laenly Phoutthavong failed to advance in the 100 m heats while swimmer Phathana Inthavong did not reach farther than the 50 m freestyle heats. Overall, Inthavong had the highest ranking for Laos in 2012 with a 56th place finish.

Background

Following the 1978 formation of the National Olympic Committee of Laos, the NOC became part of the International Olympic Committee in 1979.{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.olympiclao.org.la/history/ |website=Lao National Olympic Committee |access-date=23 January 2021}} Laos appeared at their first Olympic Games at the 1980 Summer Olympics.{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Grasso |first1=John |last2=Mallon |first2=Bill |last3=Heijmans |first3=Jeroen |title=Laos (LAO)|date=2015|encyclopedia=Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=Lanham & London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uCN1CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA326|access-date=23 January 2021|edition=Fifth|page=326|isbn=9781442248595}} In May 1984, Laos withdrew their participation from the 1984 Summer Olympics.{{cite news |title=Czechoslovakia, Laos join Olympic boycott |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=943&dat=19840513&id=BmxIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s1YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=926,4966441&hl=en |access-date=January 5, 2022 |work=Mohave Daily Miner |agency=UPI |date=May 13, 1984 |page=A7}} After not appearing in 1984, Laos competed in six consecutive Summer Olympics leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympics, which took place from 27 July to 12 August in London.{{cite web |title=Lao People's Democratic Republic |url=https://www.olympedia.org/countries/LAO |website=Olympedia |access-date=23 January 2021}}{{cite web |title=2012 Summer Olympics |url=https://www.olympedia.org/editions/54 |website=Olympedia |access-date=29 January 2021}}

While training at Chao Anouvong Stadium, the Laotian runners used concrete barbell weights made from paint cans and tires. These weights were joined together with beams from scaffolding.{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Talek |title=Pumping concrete with the Laos Olympic team |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pumping-concrete-laos-olympic-team-102256196--spt.html |access-date=23 January 2021 |work=Yahoo News Singapore |date=17 May 2012}} For the 2012 Olympics, Kilakone Siphonexay and Laenly Phoutthavong represented the country in athletics while Phathana Inthavong competed in swimming.{{cite web |title=Lao People's Democratic Republic at the 2012 Summer Olympics |url=https://www.olympedia.org/countries/LAO/editions/54 |website=Olympedia |access-date=23 January 2021}} With an average age of eighteen, Laos had the youngest team at the 2012 Olympics.{{cite news |title=Could you be an athlete? Olympics 2012 by age, weight and height |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/datablog/2012/aug/07/olympics-2012-athletes-age-weight-height |access-date=24 January 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=7 August 2012}} Competing in his first Olympics, Siphonexay was the flag bearer for Laos at the opening and closing ceremonies.{{cite web |title=Kilakone Siphonexay |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/120929 |website=Olympedia |access-date=23 January 2021}} Phoutthavong and Inthavong also went to their first Olympics in 2012.{{cite web |title=Laenly Phoutthavong |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/120983 |website=Olympedia |access-date=23 January 2021}}{{cite web |title=Phathana Inthavong |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/120926 |website=Olympedia |access-date=23 January 2021}}

Athletics

Prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, none of the Laotian competitors qualified for the athletic events. Kilakone Siphonexay entered the Olympics with a personal best of 11.24 seconds.{{cite web |title=Entry List by NOC |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=4b1a8143-63fb-4837-872d-cc722d400199.pdf&urlSlug=entry-list-by-national-olympic-committee-noc |website=World Athletics |access-date=23 January 2021 |page=32 |date=27 July 2012}} With his time, Siphonexay was exactly one second slower than the B standard qualifying time for the men's 100 m.{{cite web |title=Qualification System — Games of the XXX Olympiad |url=http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/statistics/standards/05/90/83/20110119112034_httppostedfile_qualificationsystem-athletics-iaaf-21112010_23249.pdf |website=IAAF |access-date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713125751/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/statistics/standards/05/90/83/20110119112034_httppostedfile_qualificationsystem-athletics-iaaf-21112010_23249.pdf |archive-date=13 July 2012 |page=4 |date=December 2011}} On 4 August, Siphonexay finished sixth in the first preliminary heat with a time of 11.30 seconds.{{cite web |title=2012 Summer Olympics / Athletics / 100 metres, Men |url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/302122 |website=Olympedia |access-date=23 January 2021}} With his sixth place heat finish, Siphonexay was not one of the eight qualifiers that finished in the top two of the four heats. For the last two qualifying spots, Siphonexay did not reach the next round as he was not one of the two remaining athletes to have one of the top two fastest times.{{cite web |title=100 Metres men | The XXX Olympic Games |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxx-olympic-games-6999193/results/men/100-metres/preliminary-round/result |website=World Athletics |at=Preliminary Round |access-date=23 January 2021}} Overall, Siphonexay was 68th out of 75 competitors.{{cite news |title=2012 Summer Olympics Results — Athletics |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2012/results/_/discipline/3/event/256 |access-date=23 January 2021 |work=ESPN |year=2012 |at=Athletics Men's 100m}}

For the women's 100 m, Laenly Phoutthavong went to the 2012 Olympics without a qualifying time or personal best.{{cite web |title=Entry List by NOC |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=4b1a8143-63fb-4837-872d-cc722d400199.pdf&urlSlug=entry-list-by-national-olympic-committee-noc |website=World Athletics |access-date=26 January 2021 |page=83 |date=27 July 2012}}{{cite web |title=Laenly Phoutthavong |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/laos/laenly-phoutthavong-14538522 |website=World Athletics |at=Progression |access-date=27 January 2021}} On 3 August, Phoutthavong completed the third preliminary heat in sixth place and a time of 13.15 seconds.{{cite web |title=2012 Summer Olympics / Athletics / 100 metres, Women |url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/302089 |website=Olympedia |access-date=27 January 2021}} Phoutthavong did not qualify to the next round with her heat placing as she did not finish in the top two in her individual heat. As Phoutthavong did not have one of the two quickest overall times as part of the remaining athletes, she did not advance from the preliminary round.{{cite web |title=100 Metres women | The XXX Olympic Games |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxx-olympic-games-6999193/results/women/100-metres/preliminary-round/result |website=World Athletics |at=Preliminary Round |access-date=27 January 2021}} Out of 79 competitors, Phoutthavong was 68th overall during the Olympic event.{{cite news |title=2012 Summer Olympics Results — Athletics |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2012/results/_/event/302/discipline/3 |access-date=27 January 2021 |work=ESPN |at=Athletics Women's 100m |date=2012}}

{{smalldiv|1=

; Key

Note–Individual ranks are heat finishes.

}}

;Men

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
rowspan="2"\|Athlete !rowspan="2"\|Event !colspan="2"\|Heat !colspan="2"\|Quarterfinal !colspan="2"\|Semifinal !colspan="2"\|Final
style="font-size:95%" !Result !Rank !Result !Rank !Result !Rank !Result !Rank
align=center \|align=left\|Kilakone Siphonexay \|align=left\|100 m \|11.30 \|6 \|colspan=6\|Did not advance

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"

rowspan="2"|Athlete

!rowspan="2"|Event

!colspan="2"|Heat

!colspan="2"|Quarterfinal

!colspan="2"|Semifinal

!colspan="2"|Final

style="font-size:95%"

!Result

!Rank

!Result

!Rank

!Result

!Rank

!Result

!Rank

align=center

|align=left|Kilakone Siphonexay

|align=left|100 m

|11.30

|colspan=6|Did not advance

;Women

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
rowspan="2"\|Athlete !rowspan="2"\|Event !colspan="2"\|Heat !colspan="2"\|Quarterfinal !colspan="2"\|Semifinal !colspan="2"\|Final
style="font-size:95%" !Result !Rank !Result !Rank !Result !Rank !Result !Rank
align=center \|align=left\|Laenly Phoutthavong \|align=left\|100 m \|13.15 \|6 \|colspan=6\|Did not advance

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"

rowspan="2"|Athlete

!rowspan="2"|Event

!colspan="2"|Heat

!colspan="2"|Quarterfinal

!colspan="2"|Semifinal

!colspan="2"|Final

style="font-size:95%"

!Result

!Rank

!Result

!Rank

!Result

!Rank

!Result

!Rank

align=center

|align=left|Laenly Phoutthavong

|align=left|100 m

|13.15

|colspan=6|Did not advance

Swimming

For the swimming events, Laos had no competitors qualify for the Olympics. For the men's 50m freestyle, Pathana Inthavong received a universality spot.{{cite web |title=FINA Releases Universality Qualifiers for 2012 London Games |url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/fina-releases-universality-qualifiers-for-2012-london-games/ |website=Swimming World Magazine |access-date=28 January 2021 |date=6 July 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/london2012/sw/universality_places.pdf |title=FINA Universality Places |date=6 July 2012 |publisher=FINA |access-date=6 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711000550/http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/london2012/sw/universality_places.pdf |page=2 |archive-date=11 July 2012}} His entry time of 28.94 seconds was 6.06 seconds slower than the invitational time for the Olympics.{{cite web |title=Qualification System — Games of the XXX Olympiad |url=http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/london2012/sw/sw_qual.pdf |website=FINA |access-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711072659/http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/london2012/sw/sw_qual.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2012 |date=November 2011 |page=5}} Prior to the Games, Inthavong had swum at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships as a requirement to compete as a non-qualified Olympic athlete.{{cite web |title=14th FINA World Championships 2011 |url=https://www.fina.org/competitions/517/14th-fina-world-championships-2011/results? |website=FINA |at=Men 50m Freestyle Heats Summary |access-date=8 April 2021}}{{cite web |title=Qualification System — Games of the XXX Olympiad |url=http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/london2012/sw/sw_qual.pdf |website=FINA |access-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711072659/http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/london2012/sw/sw_qual.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2012 |page=3 |date=November 2011}} On 2 August, Inthavong was second with a time of 28.17 seconds during the first heat of the 50 m freestyle event.{{cite web |title=Olympic Games London 2012 |url=https://www.fina.org/competitions/468/olympic-games-london-2012/results |website=FINA |access-date=8 April 2021 |at=Men Freestyle 50m Heat 1}} As Inthavong did not have one of the top 16 times during the heats, he did not qualify for the semifinals.{{cite web |title=2012 Summer Olympics / Swimming / 50 metres Freestyle, Men |url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/322275 |website=Olympedia |access-date=29 January 2021}} Overall, Inthavong finished 56th out of 58 competitors.{{cite news |title=2012 Summer Olympics Results — Swimming |url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2012/results/_/discipline/39/event/145 |access-date=29 January 2021 |work=ESPN |at=Men's 50m Freestyle}}

{{smalldiv|1=

; Key

Note–Individual rank is heat finish.

}}

;Men

class=wikitable style="font-size:90%"
rowspan="2"\|Athlete !rowspan="2"\|Event !colspan="2"\|Heat !colspan="2"\|Semifinal !colspan="2"\|Final
style="font-size:95%" !Time !Rank !Time !Rank !Time !Rank
align=center \|align=left\|Phathana Inthavong \|align=left\|50 m freestyle \|28.17 \|2 \|colspan=4\|Did not advance

class=wikitable style="font-size:90%"

rowspan="2"|Athlete

!rowspan="2"|Event

!colspan="2"|Heat

!colspan="2"|Semifinal

!colspan="2"|Final

style="font-size:95%"

!Time

!Rank

!Time

!Rank

!Time