The majority of El Salvador's athletes made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, with weightlifter Julio Salamanca being the only sportsman to return for his second appearance from London 2012.

Other notable Salvadoran athletes featured Enrique Arathoon, the nation's first ever sailor for nearly half a century, and Marcelo Acosta, bronze medalist in long-distance freestyle swimming at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing two years earlier.

Air pistol shooter Lilian Castro, the oldest member of the squad (aged 29), acted as El Salvador's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

Juan Diego Turcios earned a continental quota spot from the Pan American region, as El Salvador's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of 30 May 2016.

[6][7] El Salvador qualified a boat in men's Laser class by virtue of a top finish for Central & South America at the 2015 Pan American Games, signifying the nation's Olympic return to the sport for the first time since 1968.