 Former Boise State University student Eric Matthias participated on behalf of the British Virgin Islands at the discus throw event . He was one of two British Virgin Islanders participating in a track and field event and in the 2008 Olympics as a whole . Matthias ' appearance in Beijing marked his first appearance at any Olympic game . Once at the Olympics , Matthias was placed in the second qualifying heat on 16 August . He threw the discus 53 @.@ 11 meters , ranking last out of 18 athletes . The 17th place finalist in the second qualifying heat , Iraq 's Haidar Nasser Shaheed , threw 1 @.@ 08 meters further , with heat leader Rutger Smith of the Netherlands throwing the discus 12 @.@ 54 meters further than Matthias . Overall , out of 37 athletes , Matthias placed last , and did not progress to the final round on 19 August . 
