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Colombia at the Olympics

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Colombia at the
Olympics
IOC codeCOL
NOCColombian Olympic Committee
Websitewww.olimpicocol.co (in Spanish)
Medals
Ranked 71st
Gold
5
Silver
16
Bronze
17
Total
38
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

Colombia first formally participated at the Olympic Games in 1932, and has sent athletes to compete in all but one edition of the Summer Olympic Games since then, missing only the 1952 Games. Colombian athletes have won a total of 38 Olympic medals (five gold, sixteen silver and seventeen bronze) in eight different sports, with weightlifting and cycling as the most successful ones. Colombia is the third most successful South American country at the Olympic Games, after Brazil and Argentina respectively. The Colombian Olympic Committee was created in 1936 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1948.[1]

Shooter Helmut Bellingrodt won the country's first Olympic medal, a silver at the Munich 1972 Olympics. Weightlifter María Isabel Urrutia became the first Olympic champion representing the country at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. BMX rider Mariana Pajón is the most successful Colombian Olympian, with two golds and one silver.

History

[edit]
Colombian delegation at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games

One Colombian national, Francisco Henríquez de Zubiría, competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics before the advent of rules tying all participants to National Olympic Committees. Henríquez de Zubiría was born in and lived in Paris and competed for a French club in the tug of war event, and is often listed as competing for France.[2][3] The IOC currently lists this team as silver medalists under the mixed team designation.[4]

A Colombian delegation attended the Olympic Games for the first time in the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles, with only one athlete: Jorge Perry. Perry sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee in January 1932 in which he sigma introduces himself; described Colombia as "a little South American country aiming to grow its sporting structure and willing to be part of the olympic

movement", and expressing his desire to take part in the then upcoming competition.[5] The following month, Perry received an answer from the IOC. Fearful of being rejected, he slowly opened the letter. But surprisingly for him his request not only was accepted, but also help was offered for him before and during competition. On July 30, 1932, he paraded in the opening ceremony representing a country not affiliated to the IOC back then.[6] He competed in the marathon, but after ten kilometers was unable to finish and the race was won by Argentina's Juan Carlos Zabala. Fourteen years later in 1946, Colombia's first olympian dies in Bogotá, 4 days after suffering a motorcycle accident near his native Samacá. For the 1936 edition of the Games, the Comité Olímpico Colombiano was already created and sent five athletes to compete in Berlin. After the controversial decision to replay a football match between Peru and Austria (after an adverse result for the Austrians), the Colombian delegation left the olympic village as a sign of support to the Peruvian team.[7] After the conclusion of World War II, the 1948 London Olympics were held and the Colombian contingent for the first time included athletes from sports other than track and field, taking part in fencing and swimming.[8][9] Due to financing problems and a then ongoing violent period, Colombia did not take part in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.[10] For the Melbourne Games in 1956, the Colombian team expanded from a few competitors to 26 athletes, sending cyclists and weightlifters for the first time.[11] Colombian athletes continued participating at the Olympics since then without missing a Summer edition of the Games, sending females athletes to compete for the first time at the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City.[12][13]

Colombia won their first olympic medals at the Munich Olympics in 1972, forty years after making its debut in the games. The first one was a silver medal won by shooter Helmut Bellingrodt in the 50 metre running target event,[14] both Clemente Rojas and Alfonso Pérez won each one a bronze medal in boxing at those games too, bringing the medal tally for the Colombian delegation to a total of three medals.[15]

Colombia did not join the US-Led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics,[16] although the then President of Colombia Julio Turbay initially supported the boycott. The then president of Comité Olímpico Colombiano Fidel Mendoza did not abide the president's recommendations and gave green light to 23 Colombian athletes to participate. They won no medals in Russia.[17] Competing in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, shooter Helmut Bellingrodt won his second silver medal in the same event he won his first medal back in 1972, making him the first Colombian athlete to won two Olympics medals; his medal was the only one the Colombian contingent won at those Games.[18] At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, another Colombian boxer won a bronze medal: Jorge Eliécer Julio made it to the Bantamweight category semifinals and faced Bulgaria's Aleksandar Khristov; the Colombian was seen as dominating his opponent, but in the end three out of five judges declared the Bulgarian as winner of the bout, prompting protests from fans who were attending the boxing competitions at that moment.[19] Ximena Restrepo became the first Colombian woman to win an Olympic medal, by winning a bronze medal in the women's 400 m. at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She found out she won a medal minutes later after crossing the line. Her 49.64 seconds mark still stands as the South American record for that event.[20] The country failed to win a medal at the 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, although marathon runner Carlos Grisales ranked eleventh in the men's event, the highest position a Colombian athlete has ever achieved in an olympic marathon race so far.[21] The story was different four years later in Sydney 2000, as Weightlifter María Isabel Urrutia won the nation's first olympic gold medal at the 75 kg. category. Urrutia lifted the same weight than silver and bronze medal winners Nigeria's Ruth Ogbeifo and Taiwan's Kuo Yi-hang respectively, but she won gold due her body weight being less than that of her rivals. Señal Colombia broadcast her victory and when the event ended, the narrators mistakenly believed she won bronze as they saw on screen the results of the clean and jerk phase. Seconds after, the final results were screened and they realized their error and Urrutia's accomplishment.[22]

From left to right: Óscar Figueroa, Caterine Ibargüen, Mariana Pajón and Carlos Oquendo
Yuri Alvear and Óscar Muñoz
Colombian Olympic medalists of 2012, being greeted in Bogotá

When the Olympic Games returned to Greece in Athens 2004, the Colombian delegation collected two bronze medals through weightlifter Mabel Mosquera[23] and cyclist María Luisa Calle,[24] who won Colombia's first olympic medal in Cycling. Calle was originally stripped of her medal after failing an antidoping test for heptaminol. She assured that hours before the race, she took an anti-migraine pill which contained isometheptene, a substance which transforms into heptaminol during laboratory analyses.[25] The bronze medal she won in the women's points race was later returned, being one of a few cases in which IOC returned a medal stripped for doping. For the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Colombian roster won two medals: weightlifter Diego Salazar won silver[26] in the men's 62kg, and Jackeline Rentería won Colombia's first olympic medal in Wrestling, earning bronze in women's freestyle 55kg category. During a wave of retests in 2016, it was disclosed that original gold[27] and bronze[28] medalists in the women's weightlifting 69kg event failed an antidoping test; weightlifter Leydi Solís finished fourth in that event back in 2008. Later in January 2017 the disgraced aforementioned medalists were officially disqualified, meaning that Solís was upgraded to second place.[29] She received her silver medal in December 2017.[30] Colombia made its Winter Olympics debut in 2010 in Vancouver. US-born Swiss Skier Cynthia Denzler represented the country in the women's slalom and giant slalom.[31] She ranked 51st in the slalom event. To participate at the 2012 Olympics, Colombia sent a delegation composed of 104 athletes;[32] this was the first time a delegation exceeded one hundred participants. The performance of national athletes improved remarkably as well. The maximum number of medals won in one edition of the games was three, number reached at Munich 1972 and Beijing 2008. In London the Colombian contingent won eight medals in six different sports. BMX rider Mariana Pajón won Colombia's first golden medal since Sydney 2000. Cyclist Rigoberto Urán won silver in the men's road race, the first olympic medal in road cycling competitions for the country. Track and field athlete Caterine Ibargüen won silver in the women's triple jump, the first medal in Athletics since Barcelona 1992. Weightlifter Óscar Figueroa won also silver in the men's 62kg, setting an olympic record of 177 kg in the clean and jerk phase. Jackeline Rentería matched her performance in Beijing and won again a bronze medal, joining Helmut Bellingrodt as the only Colombian athletes to win two olympic medals. Carlos Oquendo also won bronze in the cycling men's bmx race, on the same day Pajón won gold in the women's race. The bronze medals won by Yuri Alvear in Judo and Óscar Muñoz in Taekwondo, were the first olympic medals for Colombia in those sports.[33] The Good Performance achieved in London 2012 continued and improved in Rio de Janeiro 2016. Competing at the first Olympic Games held in South America, Colombian athletes won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals, winning again a total of eight medals.[34] Triple jump World champion Caterine Ibargüen won a gold medal in the women's event, the first olympic golden medal in Athletics for Colombia. Óscar Figueroa upgraded his silver medal to gold in the men's weightlifting 62kg category,[35] keeping Colombia's good streak in Olympic Weightlifting since 2000 and becoming the first male Olympic champion for the country. Mariana Pajón became the first Colombian athlete to be Olympic gold medalist twice, as she won again the women's cycling bmx race. Judoka Yuri Alvear won silver in the women's 70kg event, improving her 2012 bronze medal. Ibargüen, Figueroa, Pajón and Alvear joined shooter Bellingrodt and wrestler Rentería as the only Colombian athletes to have won two Olympic Medals. Boxers Yuberjen Martínez and Ingrit Valencia won Colombia's first olympic medals in Boxing since Seoul 1988; Martínez won silver and Valencia earned bronze, making her the first Colombian female boxer to win an olympic medal. BMX rider Carlos Ramírez won bronze in the men's race. Weightlifter Luis Javier Mosquera originally finished fourth in the men's 69kg event, but was later awarded the bronze medal as original winner Kyrgyzstan's Izzat Artykov was disqualified after testing positive for the stimulant strychnine.[36] After an absence of eight years, Colombia competed again at the Winter Olympics in 2018 in PyeongChang.[37] The Colombian delegation was made up of athletes competing in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and ice speed skating,[38] becoming in the first Latin American country to compete in the latter.[39]

At the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Colombia won four silver and one bronze medals. Mariana Pajón added silver to her two previous golden medals earned in BMX racing, achievement that made her the first Colombian sportsperson to win three olympic medals.[40] Sandra Arenas became in the first race walker from the country to win an Olympic medal, as she ranked second in the women's 20 km. event.[41]

Medal tables

[edit]
See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Medals by Summer Games

[edit]
Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
United States 1932 Los Angeles 1 0 0 0 0 –
Nazi Germany 1936 Berlin 5 0 0 0 0 –
United Kingdom 1948 London 5 0 0 0 0 –
Finland 1952 Helsinki did not participate
Australia 1956 Melbourne 26 0 0 0 0 –
Italy 1960 Rome 16 0 0 0 0 –
Japan 1964 Tokyo 20 0 0 0 0 –
Mexico 1968 Mexico City 44 0 0 0 0 –
West Germany 1972 Munich 59 0 1 2 3 31
Canada 1976 Montreal 35 0 0 0 0 –
Soviet Union 1980 Moscow 23 0 0 0 0 –
United States 1984 Los Angeles 39 0 1 0 1 33
South Korea 1988 Seoul 40 0 0 1 1 46
Spain 1992 Barcelona 49 0 0 1 1 54
United States 1996 Atlanta 48 0 0 0 0 –
Australia 2000 Sydney 44 1 0 0 1 50
Greece 2004 Athens 53 0 0 2 2 68
China 2008 Beijing 67 0 2 1 3 60
United Kingdom 2012 London 104 1 3 5 9 38
Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro 147 3 2 3 8 22
Japan 2020 Tokyo 70 0 4 1 5 66
France 2024 Paris 87 0 3 1 4 66
United States 2028 Los Angeles future event
Australia 2032 Brisbane
Total 5 16 17 38 71

Medals by Winter Games

[edit]
Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
Canada 2010 Vancouver 1 0 0 0 0 –
Russia 2014 Sochi did not participate
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang 4 0 0 0 0 –
China 2022 Beijing 3 0 0 0 0 –
Italy 2026 Milano Cortina future event
France 2030 French Alps
United States 2034 Salt Lake City
Total 0 0 0 0 –

Medals by Summer Sport

[edit]
Sports  Gold  Silver  Bronze Total Rank
 Weightlifting 2 6 3 11 24
 Cycling 2 2 4 8 20
 Athletics 1 3 1 5 58
 Shooting 0 2 0 2 55
 Boxing 0 1 4 5 55
 Judo 0 1 1 2 42
 Gymnastics 0 1 0 1 45
 Wrestling 0 0 3 3 62
 Taekwondo 0 0 1 1 39
Total 5 16 17 38 71

Medals by Gender

[edit]
Gender  Gold  Silver  Bronze Total
Men 1 10 8 19
Women 4 6 9 19
Mixed 0 0 0 0
Total 5 16 17 38

List of Medalists

[edit]
Medal Name Games Sport Event
 Silver Helmut Bellingrodt West Germany 1972 Munich Shooting 50 metre running target
 Bronze Clemente Rojas Boxing Men's featherweight
 Bronze Alfonso Pérez Boxing Men's lightweight
 Silver Helmut Bellingrodt United States 1984 Los Angeles Shooting 50 metre running target
 Bronze Jorge Eliécer Julio South Korea 1988 Seoul Boxing Men's bantamweight
 Bronze Ximena Restrepo Spain 1992 Barcelona Athletics Women's 400 metres
 Gold María Isabel Urrutia Australia 2000 Sydney Weightlifting Women's 75 kg
 Bronze María Luisa Calle Greece 2004 Athens Cycling Women's points race
 Bronze Mabel Mosquera Weightlifting Women's 53 kg
 Silver Diego Salazar China 2008 Beijing Weightlifting Men's 62 kg
 Silver Leydi Solís Weightlifting Women's 69 kg
 Bronze Jackeline Rentería Wrestling Women's freestyle 55 kg
 Gold Mariana Pajón United Kingdom 2012 London Cycling Women's BMX
 Silver Caterine Ibargüen Athletics Women's triple jump
 Silver Rigoberto Urán Cycling Men's road race
 Silver Óscar Figueroa Weightlifting Men's 62 kg
 Bronze Carlos Oquendo Cycling Men's BMX
 Bronze Yuri Alvear Judo Women's 70 kg
 Bronze Óscar Muñoz Taekwondo Men's 58 kg
 Bronze Ubaldina Valoyes Weightlifting Women's 69 kg
 Bronze Jackeline Rentería Wrestling Women's freestyle 55 kg
 Gold Caterine Ibargüen Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro Athletics Women's triple jump
 Gold Mariana Pajón Cycling Women's BMX
 Gold Óscar Figueroa Weightlifting Men's 62 kg
 Silver Yuberjen Martínez Boxing Men's light flyweight
 Silver Yuri Alvear Judo Women's 70 kg
 Bronze Ingrit Valencia Boxing Women's flyweight
 Bronze Carlos Ramírez Cycling Men's BMX
 Bronze Luis Javier Mosquera Weightlifting Men's 69 kg
 Silver Luis Javier Mosquera Japan 2020 Tokyo Weightlifting Men's 67 kg
 Silver Mariana Pajón Cycling Women's BMX
 Silver Anthony Zambrano Athletics Men's 400 metres
 Silver Sandra Arenas Athletics Women's 20 kilometres walk
 Bronze Carlos Ramírez Cycling Men's BMX
 Silver Ángel Barajas France 2024 Paris Gymnastics Men's horizontal bar
 Silver Yeison López Weightlifting Men's 89 kg
 Silver Mari Sánchez Weightlifting Women's 71 kg
 Bronze Tatiana Rentería Wrestling Women's freestyle 76 kg

Multiple medalists

[edit]
Athlete Sport Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
Mariana Pajón  Cycling 2012, 2016, 2020 2 1 0 3
Caterine Ibargüen  Athletics 2012, 2016 1 1 0 2
Óscar Figueroa  Weightlifting 2012, 2016 1 1 0 2
Helmut Bellingrodt  Shooting 1972, 1984 0 2 0 2
Yuri Alvear  Judo 2012, 2016 0 1 1 2
Luis Javier Mosquera  Weightlifting 2016, 2020 0 1 1 2
Jackeline Rentería  Wrestling 2008, 2012 0 0 2 2
Carlos Ramírez  Cycling 2016, 2020 0 0 2 2

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Team Colombia - Profile". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  2. ^ Rivas, Fernando Arrechea (2009). 1900. La Primera Aventura Olímpica Española (in Spanish). CIHEFE. p. 65. ISBN 9788494404405.
  3. ^ "Francisco Henríquez de Zubiría". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Paris 1900 Tug of War Men Results". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ^ COC 80 anos 2 Perry Villate coc.org.co [dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Jorge Perry Villate, el primer colombiano en unos Juegos Olímpicos" (in Spanish). 6 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Hace 75 años Perú se retiró de Berlín 36 tras "humillar" a Hitler". El Comercio. 10 August 2011.
  8. ^ Colombia en los olimpicos Londres 1948 coc.org.co [dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Colombian Results and Medals in the Olympic Games". www.olympiandatabase.com.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Colombia at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games". 17 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Colombia at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games". 17 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  13. ^ Colombia en los olimpicos Mexico 1968 coc.org.co [dead link‍]
  14. ^ Heraldo, El. "Gente Caribe: Noticias de Gente Caribe, Fotos de Gente Caribe y Videos de Gente Caribe - ELHERALDO.CO". EL HERALDO.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (13 April 2008). "De llama de la unidad a llama de la discordia". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (29 July 2016). "Helmut Bellingrodt, el primer colombiano en ganar una medalla olímpica". El Tiempo.
  19. ^ "Jorge Eliecer". ELESPECTADOR.COM. 13 April 2020.
  20. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (3 August 2017). "25 años del primer bronce olímpico para una colombiana". El Tiempo.
  21. ^ Noticias, T. S. M. (1 August 2016). "Colombia en los Olímpicos: Atlanta 1996". TSMNoticias.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  22. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com.[dead YouTube link]
  23. ^ "Levantamos un Bronce!". El Tiempo. 16 August 2004.
  24. ^ "Estas son las 14 medallas de Colombia en la historia de los Juegos Olímpicos". www.elcolombiano.com. 1 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Colombian cyclist Calle gets his medal back". www.iol.co.za.
  26. ^ "Pesista colombiano Diego Salazar ganó medalla de plata en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín 2008". El Tiempo. 11 August 2008.
  27. ^ "Three gold medallists set to be stripped of Beijing 2008 titles after failing retests". www.insidethegames.biz. 24 August 2016.
  28. ^ "IOC sanctions 16 athletes for failing anti-doping tests at Beijing 2008". International Olympic Committee. 14 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Leidy Solís logra medalla de plata de Beijing 2008 al confirmarse dopaje de china". Noticias Caracol. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017.
  30. ^ "Biography". Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  31. ^ "Cynthia Denzler, la única representante de Colombia en los Juegos de Invierno". El Tiempo. 11 February 2010.
  32. ^ "Colombia inscribió 104 atletas a Londres 2012". www.elcolombiano.com. 4 July 2012.
  33. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "Colombia logró presentación histórica en Londres 2012". Portafolio.co.
  34. ^ "Pajón, Ibargüen lead Colombia to best Olympic performance in history". 22 August 2016.
  35. ^ "Figueroa wins -62kg weightlifting gold". BBC Sport.
  36. ^ "Medallist loses bronze after failed test". BBC Sport.
  37. ^ Colombia.com, Redacción- (13 February 2018). "PyeongChang 2018: Programación de los atletas colombianos en los juegos". Colombia.com.
  38. ^ "Con ruanas y sombreros, la delegación colombiana desfiló en PyeongChang". elespectador.com (in Spanish). 9 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  39. ^ "Olympic joy warms Colombian skaters in chilly Gangneung". Reuters. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  40. ^ "La historia de Mariana Pajón en sus tres medallas en Juegos Olímpicos". ESPN.com.co (in Spanish). 30 July 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  41. ^ Cali, Casa Editorial El País. "Sandra Lorena Arenas recibió la medalla de plata de los 20 kilómetros marcha - Juegos Olimpicos Tokyo 2020". www.elpais.com.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2021.
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