1977 Bolivarian Games

The VIII Bolivarian Games (Spanish: Juegos Bolivarianos) were a multi-sport event held between October 15–29, 1977, at the Estadio Olímpico La Paz in La Paz, Bolivia. The Games were organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (ODEBO).

VIII Bolivarian Games
Host cityLa Paz
Country Bolivia
Nations6
Events16 sports
OpeningOctober 15, 1977 (1977-10-15)
ClosingOctober 29, 1977 (1977-10-29)
Opened byHugo Banzer
Torch lighterJulia Iriarte
Main venueEstadio Olímpico La Paz

The Games were officially opened by Bolivian president, General Hugo Banzer. Torch lighter was Athlete Julia Iriarte, who won five gold and three silver medals in the eight events at the 1947-48 Bolivarian Games.

The stadium in La Paz was one of the first in South America equipped with a synthetic track for the athletics running events. Because the stadium is situated 3,650 metres above sea level, and this about the first time that a big international sports event of that size took place at this altitude, there was a substantial medical interest in its influence on both the performance and the health of the athletes.[1]

A detailed history of the early editions of the Bolivarian Games between 1938 and 1989 was published in a book written (in Spanish) by José Gamarra Zorrilla, former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, and first president (1976-1982) of ODESUR.[1] Gold medal winners from Ecuador were published by the Comité Olímpico Ecuatoriano.[2]

Participation

Athletes from 6 countries were reported to participate:[1]

Sports

The following 16 sports were explicitly mentioned:[1]

Medal count

The medal count for these Games is tabulated below.[3] A slightly different number of medals was published elsewhere.[4] This table is sorted by the number of gold medals earned by each country. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next, and then the number of bronze medals.

1977 Bolivarian Games Medal Count
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Venezuela797151201
2 Colombia36362294
3 Peru26343595
4 Ecuador19173975
5 Bolivia15203671
6 Panama107522
Total185185188558

References
  1. Gamarra Zorrilla, José, Bolivia Olímpica Capítulos VI al VIII (PDF) (in Spanish), ANDES Academia del Conocimiento y el Desarrollo "Fernando Diez de Medina", retrieved October 22, 2012
  2. CUADRO DE MEDALLISTAS ECUATORIANOS EN LA HISTORIA DE LOS J. D. B. POR EDICIÓN (PDF) (in Spanish), Comité Olímpico Ecuatoriano, archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2012, retrieved October 22, 2012
  3. RESULTADOS - VIII Juegos Bolivarianos. La Paz - Bolivia, 1977 (in Spanish), Comité Organizador de los Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos 2005, archived from the original on October 11, 2007, retrieved January 16, 2013
  4. Cuadro de medallas (in Spanish), El Tiempo, October 30, 1977, p. 10 (original page no.: 2B), retrieved January 16, 2013
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