Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Spain competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed in all but two Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1920. Spain boycotted two editions, the 1936 Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany and the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Hungary. In 2012, the Spanish Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1988. A total of 278 athletes, 166 men and 112 women, competed in 23 sports.
Spain left London with a total of 17 Olympic medals, failing short of the total achieved in Beijing by a single medal. Three of the medals were awarded in taekwondo and canoeing, and two each in sailing, swimming, and synchronized swimming. Three Spanish athletes won more than a single medal in London, while all of their competitors in synchronized swimming and taekwondo won at least one medal. Spain's competitors in team sports also proved successful in London, as the women's handball and water polo teams won silver and bronze medals respectively. The men's basketball team managed to repeat its silver medal from Beijing. Spain, however, did not win an Olympic medal in tennis for the first time since it was reintroduced as a full-medal sport in 1988, and in cycling for the first time since that same year. On 21 November 2016, a fourth gold medal was assigned to Spain's Lidia Valentín in Weightlifting after the IOC disqualified the original medallists in the event for failing doping tests at the Games.
Among the nation's medallists were sailor Marina Alabau in women's windsurfing, and sprint kayaker Saúl Craviotto, who previously won gold in Beijing. Three athletes won Spain's first ever Olympic medals in their respective disciplines: triathlete Javier Gómez Noya, slalom kayaker Maialen Chourraut, and freestyle wrestler Maider Unda. Sprint canoer David Cal, who won silver in London, became the first Spanish athlete in history to win a total of five Olympic medals. Meanwhile, Mireia Belmonte became the first Spanish swimmer in history to win two Olympic medals.
Medalists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Weightlifting | Women's 75 kg | |||
| Sailing | Women's sailboard | |||
| Taekwondo | Men's 58 kg | |||
| Sailing | Elliott 6m | |||
| Swimming | Women's 200 metre butterfly | |||
| Swimming | Women's 800 metre freestyle | |||
| Triathlon | Men's | |||
| Synchronized swimming | Women's duet | |||
| Canoeing | Men's C-1 1000 m | |||
| Taekwondo | Women's 49 kg | |||
| Water polo | Women's tournament | |||
| Taekwondo | Men's 80 kg | |||
| Canoeing | Men's K-1 200 m | |||
| Spain national basketball team | Basketball | Men's tournament | ||
| Canoeing | Women's slalom K-1 | |||
| Wrestling | Women's freestyle 72 kg | |||
Alba Cabello Ona Carbonell Margalida Crespí Andrea Fuentes Thaïs Henríquez Paula Klamburg Irene Montrucchio Laia Pons | Synchronized swimming | Women's team | ||
| Handball | Women's tournament |
Delegation
The Spanish Olympic Committee selected a team of 278 athletes, 166 men and 112 women, to compete in 23 sports; it was the nation's sixth-largest team sent to the Olympics, but the smallest since 1988. Spain did not qualify athletes in fencing, modern pentathlon, and rowing, but there was only a single competitor in women's freestyle wrestling. Athletics was the largest team by sport, with a total of 46 competitors.The Spanish team featured several Olympic medalists from Beijing, including sailors Iker Martínez and Xabier Fernández in the open skiff class, and sprint canoer David Cal, who won the silver in two of his events. Race walker Jesús Ángel García became the second Spanish athlete to compete in six Olympic games, tying the record set by former water polo player Manuel Estiarte. Meanwhile, another race walker María Vasco, and field hockey player Pablo Amat competed at their fifth Olympics. Table tennis player He Zhi Wen, at age 50, was the oldest athlete of the team, while rhythmic gymnast Lourdes Mohedano was the youngest at age 17.
Other notable Spanish athletes featured sprint kayaker and two-time world champion Saúl Craviotto, swimmer Mireia Belmonte in the women's medley, butterfly, and freestyle events, tennis doubles specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues, and NBA basketball players Victor Claver and Serge Ibaka. Former world number-one male tennis player and defending Olympic champion Rafael Nadal was initially selected by the committee to carry the nation's flag, but he later withdrew from the Games because of an undisclosed injury. On 20 July 2012, NBA basketball star Pau Gasol, who led his team by winning the silver medal in Beijing, replaced Nadal as Spain's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves for fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes:
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Archery | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Athletics | 27 | 19 | 46 |
| Badminton | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Basketball | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Boxing | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Canoeing | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Cycling | 15 | 1 | 16 |
| Diving | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Field hockey | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Football | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Gymnastics | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Judo | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Sailing | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Shooting | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Swimming | 3 | 11 | 14 |
| Synchronized swimming | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Table tennis | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Taekwondo | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Tennis | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Triathlon | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Volleyball | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Water polo | 13 | 13 | 26 |
| Weightlifting | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Wrestling | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 166 | 112 | 278 |
Archery
Spain had qualified one archer each in the men's and women's individual events.Athletics
Spanish athletes qualified standards in the following athletics events :in men's marathon
;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
Badminton
Basketball
qualified for the event by reaching the final of the EuroBasket 2011.- Men's team event – 1 team of 12 players
Men's tournament
;Group play
;Quarter-final
;Semi-final
;Gold medal match
Boxing
Spain qualified boxers for the following events.;Men
Canoeing
Slalom
Spain qualified boats for the following events.in K-1 semifinal
Sprint
Spain qualified boats for the following eventsQualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final ; FB = Qualify to final B
Cycling
Spain qualified riders for the following events.Road
Track
;Sprint;Pursuit
;Keirin
| Athlete | Event | 1st Round | Repechage | 2nd Round | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| Juan Peralta | Men's keirin | 3 | 2 Q | 5 | 10 |
;Omnium
Mountain biking
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Carlos Coloma Nicolás | Men's cross-country | 1:30:07 | 6 |
| José Antonio Hermida | Men's cross-country | 1:29:36 | 4 |
| Sergio Mantecón Gutiérrez | Men's cross-country | 1:33:46 | 22 |
Diving
Spain qualified two divers:;Men
;Women
Equestrian
Dressage
Spain qualified one team and three individual quota places after finishing in fifth place at the 2011 European Dressage Championship.Field hockey
- Men's team event – 1 team of 16 players
Men's tournament
;Group play
;5th/6th place game
Football
qualified for the event by reaching the final of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.- Men's team event – 1 team of 18 players
Men's tournament
;Group play
Gymnastics
Artistic
;Men;Team
;Individual finals
;Women
Rhythmic
Handball
- Men's team event – 1 team of 14 players
- Women's team event – 1 team of 14 players
Men's tournament
;Group play
;Quarterfinal
Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
;Quarterfinal
;Semifinal
;Bronze medal game
Judo
;Men;Women
Sailing
Spain qualified 1 boat for each of the following events;Men
and Tara Pacheco in women's 470 class
;Women
;Match racing
;Open
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;
Shooting
Spain qualified for 8 quota places in shooting events;;Men
;Women
Swimming
Spanish swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events, and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time ):;Men
;Women
Synchronized swimming
Spain qualified 9 quota places in synchronized swimming at the 2012 Olympics.Table tennis
Spain qualified two athlete for singles table tennis events. Shen Yanfei qualified for the women's event based on the 2011 world rankings. On 14 April 2012, He Zhi Wen qualified in the European Qualification Tournament for the men's event, and on 14 May 2012 at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Doha, Carlos Machado for the men's event; Galia Dvorak and Sara Ramírez completed the Spanish team for the women's team event, and one of them played the women's event too.Taekwondo
Tennis
Spain qualified 12 players. The final list was announced on 11 June 2012.;Men
;Women
Triathlon
Spain qualified six athletes, the maximum as possible.| Athlete | Event | Swim | Trans 1 | Bike | Trans 2 | Run | Total Time | Rank |
| Mario Mola | Men's | 18:09 | 0:38 | 59:40 | 0:29 | 30:27 | 1:49:23 | 19 |
| Javier Gómez Noya | Men's | 17:00 | 0:36 | 59:16 | 0:28 | 29:16 | 1:46:36 | |
| José Miguel Pérez | Men's | 18:07 | 0:40 | 59:40 | 0:29 | 30:57 | 1:49:53 | 24 |
| Marina Damlaimcourt | Women's | 19:20 | 0:44 | 1:05:36 | 0:30 | 36:40 | 2:02:50 | 24 |
| Ainhoa Murúa | Women's | 19:21 | 0:39 | 1:05:37 | 0:32 | 34:47 | 2:00:56 | 7 |
| Zuriñe Rodríguez | Women's | 19:49 | 0:42 | 1:06:56 | 0:36 | 40:41 | 2:08:44 | 44 |
Volleyball
Beach
Water polo
Spain qualified a team to both the men's and the women's tournaments.Men's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
;Quarterfinal
;Classification semifinal
;5th place game
Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
;Quarterfinal
;Semifinal
;Gold medal game