Colombian sport is about to begin its 20th participation in the history of the Olympic Gamesseeking to surpass what was achieved in the last Tokyo Games, where five medals were won, four silver and one bronze.
According to the criteria of
And to meet the objective, this time the number of qualified athletes for Paris is 89, which exceeds that of Tokyo 2020 (71), although for the previous games no team sport was qualified, while for 2024 women’s soccer is reported with 18 places.
Neither Tokyo nor Paris have surpassed the number of athletes from Rio de Janeiro 2016Games attended by 147 Colombians, including both soccer teams, men’s and women’s, and women’s rugby, which registered 13 spots.
The Ministry of Sport Last year, it contributed $979,828,940 to the team in Paris; in 2024, $20,353,948,500 was delivered for preparation and $6,946,051,500 for participation.
The delegation has a way to achieve the goal of surpassing what was done in Tokyo, because thanks to Resolution 268 of March 10, 2022, signed by the then Minister of Sports, Guillermo Herrera, an exclusive strategy was created to achieve high achievements in the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the first stop in Paris, with the support of key athletes in the cycle. And that list includes athletes such as Jenny Arias, Mariana Pajon, Sandra Lorena Arenas, Kevin Quintero, Martha Bayona, Yenny Alvarezto talk about some conventional athletes, such as Nelson Crispín, Carolina Munévar, Sara Vargas and Daniel Serrano, among others, in the Paralympics.
“The idea is to get between five and eight medals in Paris. We were not satisfied with Tokyo, but we believe we have the human material to get that number of medals this time,” he told EL TIEMPO. Ciro Solanopresident of the Colombian Olympic Committee.
Medal hopes
This time, the hopes for a medal are in Flor Denis Ruizwho finished second in the javelin throw at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“My dream is to win a medal at the Olympics. To get to the podium is what I have been preparing for these years,” said the athlete from Valle del Cauca.
Weightlifting is the sport with the most Olympic wins in Colombian history, having won nine of the 34 medals that have been achieved.
This time, Yeison LopezThe Chocó native, born in Istmina, is the one with the greatest progress and has an immense chance, as he arrives in Paris as second in the world ranking in the 89-kilo category.
Kevin Quintero and Martha Bayona These are the cards in track cycling. The first is the world champion of the keirin and the Santander native was second in the same competition in Glasgow, Scotland, also in the keirin.
“I see winning a medal as something real. Being a world champion doesn’t put pressure on me, but rather gives me energy to achieve my goal,” said the man from Valle del Cauca.
Yenni Arias is one of the members of the boxing team and wants to reach the podium, after falling one victory short of bronze in Tokyo.
With options
The current medalists, who have just won in Tokyo, should not be ruled out. Mariana Pajón (BMX), who, due to her experience and category, remains a candidate.
In the same sport is Carlos Ramírez, twice bronze medalist, in 2016 and 2021.
“I dream of my third medal, improving on what I did in Rio and Tokyo is what I want and that’s what we’re working towards,” she told EL TIEMPO in an interview.
Sandra Arenaswho won silver in the 20km race walk in Tokyo, has a chance to make up for three years of poor results.
Luis Javier Mosquerain weightlifting, has also won two medals at the Games, a silver and a bronze. He is coming to the Olympics, but he managed to get a place in the last qualifier, where he barely made it through in the points standings, so his current form is not what it was in previous years. Anthony Zambrano did not make the minimum mark of 45 seconds in the 400 meters in athletics, but due to the reallocation of quotas by World Athletics he will have the opportunity to defend the silver medal he made three years ago, but his current condition is not good.
Natalia Linares, in the long jump of athletics, could be one of the surprises.
The Paris Olympics have a good outlook for Colombia. Although hanging medals before the competition is not ideal, it is clear that there are serious options to rise
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