The Cuban team featured two defending Olympic champions: sprint hurdler Dayron Robles and Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López, who reprised his role as the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.

Only Lopez managed to successfully defend his Olympic title, in the men's super heavyweight division.

Cuba left London with a total of 14 medals (5 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze), being considered its worst Olympic Games since 1976.

Among the nation's medalists were heavyweight judoka Idalys Ortiz, who previously won the bronze in Beijing, flyweight boxer Robeisy Ramírez, the youngest athlete of the team at age 18, and pistol shooter Leuris Pupo, who won Cuba's first ever gold medal in his sporting discipline.

In May 2013, Yarelys Barrios was awarded the bronze in the women's discus throw when Russia's Darya Pishchalnikova tested positive for oxandrolone and was thereby stripped of her medal.