Among them were taekwondo fighter Aniya Louissaint, 19-year-old light welterweight boxer Richardson Hitchins, first female swimmer Naomy Grand'Pierre (born in Canada),[3] female hurdler Mulern Jean, male hurdler Jeffrey Julmis, the lone returning athlete from London 2012, and freestyle wrestler Asnage Castelly, who eventually led the team as the oldest competitor (aged 38) and Haiti's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

[1][4] While the American-born athletes shared their kinship ties with Haiti, freestyle swimmer Frantz Dorsainvil and weightlifter Edouard Joseph (men's 62 kg) were the nation's only homegrown Olympians on the team.

Before Rio de Janeiro, Haitian athletes yielded a tally of two Olympic medals, a silver won by long jumper Silvio Cator in 1928, and a bronze by a team of five rifle shooters in 1924.

Josue Deprez earned a continental quota spot from the Pan American region as the highest-ranked Haitian judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.

[13] Haiti received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a wrestler competing in the men's freestyle 74 kg to the Olympics, signifying the nation's debut in the sport.