The Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos'', full name ''Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos'') are a regional multi-sport event held in honor of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

, and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (''Organización Deportiva Bolivariana'', ODEBO). The event is open to athletes from

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. In 2010, the ODEBO decided to include Chile as the seventh member of ODEBO. Except Panama, all other participating countries are Andean states.

History

The first Games were held in 1938 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

for the city's 400th anniversary. They have since been held irregularly, but every four years since 1973, with the most recent edition in Valledupar,

in 2022. Inspired by the events of

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

in Berlin,Creacion
. Juegos Bolivarianos. Retrieved on 2009-11-27. Alberto Nariño Cheyne was the key designer of the idea of a Games to foster unity among the Bolivarian countries through the means of sport. Following the first Games, the Bolivarian Sports Organization was formed as a sub-organisation of the

Pan American Sports Organization The Panam Sports (Formerly Pan American Sports Organization; es, link=no, Organización Deportiva Panamericana; pt, link=no, Organizacão Depórtiva Panamericana; french: Organisation Sportive PanAméricaine) is an international organization whi ...

by six founding members from the respective countries – Jorge Rodríguez Hurtado (Bolivia), Alberto Nariño Cheyne (Colombia), Galo Plaza Lasso (Ecuador), Luis Saavedra (Panama), Alfredo Hohagen Diez Canseco (Peru) and Julio Bustamante (Venezuela). In terms of medals, Peru was dominant in the early years of the competition but Venezuela has consistently been the most successful country since the 1960s. 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 The Organización Deportiva Suramericana (ODESUR) is a multi-sports organisation. They organize the South American Games. Affiliates There are 15 affiliated National Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees: References External link ...

Summary

Games

Beach Games

;Notes

Youth Games

Sports

The following table was compiled based on information extracted from a variety of sources. It should be considered as incomplete. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

Aquatics Aquatics may refer to: *Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming *Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...

– Cycling –

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

– Gymnastics – Underwater sports – Volleyball - Basketball

All-time medal count

The total medal count for all the Games until 2022 is tabulated below. This table is sorted by the number of gold medals won by each country. The number of

silver medals A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

is taken into consideration next, and then the number of

bronze medals A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

. Chile, Dominican Republic,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and Paraguay started competing since the

2013 Bolivarian Games The 2013 Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos''), officially the XVII Bolivarian Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from November 16–30, 2013, in Trujillo, Peru, Trujillo, Peru, with some events held in ...

. As of 2022:

All time records

holds the record for the highest number of gold medals won for a country in a single edition, obtaining 213 gold medals at the

2017 Bolivarian Games The 2017 Bolivarian Games, officially the XVIII Bolivarian Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from 11–25 November 2017, in Santa Marta, Colombia. Host city selection Ciudad Bolivar (Venezuela) and Santa Marta (Colom ...

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...

as the host nation. *

holds the record for the biggest lead of gold medals to second place, obtaining a margin of 119 gold medals over Venezuela in Santa Marta 2017. *

holds the record for the biggest lead of total medals to second place, 168 medals more than Venezuela in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. * Venezuela holds the record for the highest number of total medals obtained in a single edition with 476 in the

2009 Bolivarian Games The XVI Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos'') were a multi-sport event held in 2009 in Sucre, Bolivia. The competitions in Sucre took place from 15–26 November. A number of Bolivian cities hosted some of the sporting events, includi ...

Sucre Sucre () is the Capital city, capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the List of cities in Bolivia, 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . T ...

All-time medal count (Beach Games)

As 2016

References

External links

*
2001 Bolivarian Games results

2005 Bolivarian Games official website

2009 Bolivarian Games official website
{{PASO Multi-sport events in South America