LAUSANNE, March 13, 2025 - Bolivia's Olympic history began in Berlin 1936, with the debut of Alberto Conrad in the 100m freestyle swimming event. Since then, and until 2024 Paris Games, the South American country has not won a medal in any of its 16 participations, making it the only country of the 12 in the South American continent that has yet to reach the Olympic podium. Its Olympic Committee was created in 1932 and recognized in 1936 by the International Olympic Committee.
To date, the most outstanding results have all been in athletics: the women's 4x400m relay team finished 14th in Barcelona 1992, Ángela Castro finished 18th in the 20km race walk at Rio 2016, and Guadalupe Torrez, who at age of 23, made her debut in Paris 2024 in the 100m, reaching the second round.
In the winter event, its debut was in Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 with Rene Farwig in alpine skiing in the giant slalom event. To date, Bolivia has participated in seven editions. Although it has not won a medal here, neither has any of the 12 South American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela).
Seeking the first Olympic medal
This situation has led Bolivia to take planning more seriously with each Olympic cycle, for its athletes' participation in the most important multi-sport event on the planet. For this reason, the Bolivian Olympic Committee, under the presidency of Marco Arze, with the support of the Bolivarian Sports Organization (ODEBO) and its president Baltazar Medina, held a series of workshops in the cities of Cochabamba, La Paz, Sucre, and Santa Cruz. The main aim is to achieve the country's first Olympic medal through the development of the country's Strategic Sports Plan and thus consolidating the development of Bolivian sport.
To achieve this important objective, the designated representatives were Carlos Iván Bermeo Andrade, ODEBO’s Development Program Coordinator, and Mario Quinteros Chumacero, Liaison Coordinator between ODEBO and the Bolivian Olympic Committee. They are tasked with developing a highly technical and administrative document, which will be freely available to national and subnational government authorities (departments and municipalities) in order to secure support for the training of Bolivian athletes.
Workshops
A total of four workshops were held. The first was at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón - Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences in Cochabamba, with 130 participants. The second was done in La Paz, at the 6 de Agosto Cinema Theater, co-organized by the Municipal Sports Directorate of the Autonomous Municipal Government of La Paz, with 120 participants. The third was held in Sucre, at the Convention Hall of the Autonomous Departmental Government. Chuquisaca, supported by its Departmental Service, this was attended by 114 participants. The fourth was held in the Auditorium of the Environmental Education Center of the Autonomous Departmental Government of Santa Cruz, supported by its Departmental Sports Service, and attended by 50 participants.
Some of the topics discussed included an analysis of Bolivia's sporting results in recent Olympic cycles (Carlos Iván Bermeo Andrade, Colombia); the Bolivian Olympic Committee Quadrennial Plan, and the First Olympic Medal Project for Bolivia (Mario Quinteros Chumacero, Bolivia); the Proposal for the Creation of the 2025 - 2036 Strategic Sports Plan and the Proposal for the Methodology and Importance of Sports Planning (Carlos Banasco, Cuba). A collaborative workshop was also held to design strategies for Los Angeles 2028, Brisbane 2032, and 2036 Games, all with the goal of achieving new milestones on the international stage.
This plan, which seeks to identify the weaknesses, threats, strengths, and opportunities of Bolivian sport, is scheduled to be implemented in 2025.
The dream is to achieve Olympic glory.
