Xenia Peni (born February 28, 1983) is a Papua New Guinean former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. Peni represented

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, as a 17-year-old, at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, where she became the nation's first female flag bearer in the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. Peni competed only in the women's 100 m breaststroke at the

in Sydney. She received a ticket from

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

, under a Universality program, in an entry time of 1:18.58. She challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including Bolivia's 26-year-old

Katerine Moreno Katerine Moreno de Quintanilla (born 4 May 1974 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra) is a retired swimmer from Bolivia. She competed in four Summer Olympics for her native South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western He ...

and Angola's

Nádia Cruz Nádia Vanda Sousa Eloy Cruz (born 12 July 1975) is an Angolan former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. She represented Angola in all four editions of the Olympic Games since 1988, and later became the chairman of the Angolan Olymp ...

, who competed in her fourth Olympic Games at age 25. She trailed behind Cruz in a spirited challenge by five-hundredths of a second (0.05) to round out the field in 1:19.62. Peni failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-ninth overall in the prelims.

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* 1983 births Living people Papua New Guinean female swimmers Olympic swimmers for Papua New Guinea Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Female breaststroke swimmers Sportspeople from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) {{PapuaNewGuinea-swimming-bio-stub