Among the sporting events represented by the nation's athletes, Cyprus made its Olympic debut in artistic gymnastics and women's road cycling.

The Cypriot delegation featured six returning Olympians, with only four of them having participated in more than two editions of the Olympic Games, including high jumper Kyriakos Ioannou, sprinter Eleni Artymata, 33-year-old windsurfer Andreas Cariolou (the oldest and most experienced competitor of the team), and Laser sailor Pavlos Kontides, who won a silver medal in London four years earlier.

The nation's first ever Olympic medalist, and one of the potential frontrunners for gold in the Laser class at his third Games, Kontides was selected to lead the Cypriot team as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

Kontides, Ioannou, and Serbian-born hurdler Milan Trajkovic came close to adding another medal for Cyprus at these Games, but finished seventh in the finals of their respective sporting events.

[10] M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race Cyprus has qualified one shooter each in the men's and women's skeet by virtue of their best finishes at the 2015 ISSF World Cup series, and the World Shotgun Championships, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by 31 March 2016.