Olympic history of Costa Rica
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The Comité Olímpico Nacional de Costa Rica is the National Olympic Committee of Costa Rica . It was founded in 1953 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1954 .
Costa Rica athletes first took part in summer games in 1936. No Olympic team was sent from 1948 to 1960. Since 1964, Costa Rican athletes have participated in all summer games. Costa Ricans participated in the Winter Games from 1980 to 1992, as well as from 2002 and 2006. Young athletes took part in the two youth summer games. So far, no athletes have been sent to the Youth Winter Games.
Overview
Summer games
Even before the Costa Rican NOK was recognized, the country took part in the Olympic Games. In 1936 in Berlin, fencer Bernardo de la Guardia, the first Olympian from Costa Rica, took part. He was the only athlete on his team.
It wasn't until 1964 that a team from the country started again. Two judokas started in Tokyo. In 1968 the team consisted of athletes, boxers, swimmers, weightlifters, cyclists and marksmen. The athlete Jean Robotham was the first woman in Costa Rica to participate in the Olympic Games.
In 1976 Costa Rican archers took part for the first time. In Moscow in the same year a Costa Rican soccer selection started for the first time, which was eliminated in the preliminary round without winning a point. The swimmer María París managed to take part in the finals over 100 meters dolphin. She came in seventh. In Los Angeles in the same year, the soccer team dropped out again in the preliminary round. This time, however, she achieved her first victory. On the last day of the group they defeated the already qualified Italians 1-0.
In Seoul in 1988 Costa Rica celebrated its first medal win. The swimmer Silvia Poll won silver in the 200 meter freestyle. She had already reached the finals over 100 meters and was fifth. Another final participation she managed over 100 meters back. Here she came in sixth. In 1992 in Barcelona she reached the final over 200 meters back and finished 7th. In Barcelona, canoeists from the country took part for the first time.
In Atlanta in 1996, Costa Rica achieved its first Olympic victory. Again there was the medal in swimming. This time it was Silvia's sister Claudia Poll who climbed onto the podium. She won the 200 meter freestyle final. She finished fifth over 400 meters. The cyclist José Andrés Benes finished sixth on a mountain bike. A diver in the country competed for the first time in Atlanta. In Sydney 2000 Claudia Poll swam to two more medals. She won bronze in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle. A tennis player and a triathlete were used for the first time for Costa Rica.
Claudia Poll also competed in Athens in 2004, but was unable to match her performances in Atlanta and Sydney. The men's soccer team survived the preliminary round this time, including a 4-2 win over Portugal. In the quarter-finals, however, they failed 4-0 to Argentina. For the first time a Costa Rican Taekwondoin took part. In 2008, 2012 and 2016 Costa Rica's participations were unsuccessful. Beach volleyball players competed for the first time in Rio de Janeiro.
Winter games
In 1980 in Lake Placid, Costa Rica made its Olympic debut at the Winter Games. The first winter athlete was Arturo Kinch , who took part in alpine skiing. In Sarajevo 1984 a biathlete from Costa Rica took part for the first time. Arturo Kinch started both in alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. He repeated this in 1988 in Calgary.
At the age of 45 and after a 14 year hiatus, Arturo Kinch took part in cross-country skiing in Salt Lake City in 2002. And Kinch was there again in Turin in 2006, now 49 years old. This makes him the oldest cross-country skier at the Olympic Winter Games to this day (as of 2017).
Youth games
Costa Rica sent five young athletes to the first Youth Games in Singapore in 2010 . A track and field athlete, a swimmer, a judoka, a fencer and a triathlete made up the Costa Rican team. Judoka Andrea Guillen won the bronze medal in the mixed judo team, consisting of eight participants from eight countries. This medal does not count as a Costa Rican medal, it is listed in the medal table for the mixed team.
In 2014 , three athletes took part in Nanjing . The best result was achieved by judoka Julian Sancho, who finished 5th in the weight class up to 66 kg.
Costa Rica has not yet participated in the Winter Youth Games.
Overview of the participants
Summer games
year | Athletes | Flag bearer | sports | Medals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
total | m | w | total | rank | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1896-1932 | not participated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1936 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Bernardo de la Guardia | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
1948-1960 | not participated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1964 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1968 | 18th | 17th | 1 | Rodolfo Castillo | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
1972 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Hugo Chamberlain | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
1976 | 5 | 4th | 1 | Maria París | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
1980 | 29 | 28 | 1 | Maria París | 3 | 2 | 6th | 2 | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
1984 | 28 | 27 | 1 | Mariano Lara | 4th | 3 | 1 | 3 | 17th | |||||||||||||||||
1988 | 16 | 9 | 7th | Sigrid Niehaus | 1 | 2 | 8th | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 36 | |||||||||||||
1992 | 16 | 11 | 5 | Alvaro Guardia | 1 | 8th | 1 | 1 | 4th | |||||||||||||||||
1996 | 11 | 6th | 5 | Henry Nuñez | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 49 | |||||||||||||
2000 | 7th | 5 | 2 | Karina Fernández | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 69 | ||||||||||||||
2004 | 20th | 17th | 3 | David Fernández | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 14th | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
2008 | 8th | 6th | 2 | Allan Segura | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
2012 | 11 | 8th | 3 | Gabriela Traña | 1 | 4th | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
2016 | 11 | 6th | 5 | Nery Brenes | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
total | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4th | 89 |
Winter games
year | Athletes | Flag bearer | sports | Medals | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
total | m | w | total | rank | ||||||||
1924-1976 | not participated | |||||||||||
1980 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Arturo Kinch | 1 | |||||||
1984 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
1988 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Arturo Kinch | 2 | 1 | ||||||
1992 | 4th | 4th | 0 | 4th | ||||||||
1994-1998 | not participated | |||||||||||
2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Arthur James Barton | 1 | |||||||
2010-2018 | not participated | |||||||||||
total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
Youth Summer Games
year | Athletes | Flag bearer | sports | Medals | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
total | m | w | total | rank | ||||||||||
2010 | 5 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
2014 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
Youth Winter Games
year | Athletes | Flag bearer | sports | Medals | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
total | m | w | total | rank | ||||||
2012-2016 | not participated | |||||||||
total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
List of medal winners
Gold medals
Surname | Games | sport | discipline |
---|---|---|---|
Claudia Poll | 1996 Atlanta | swim | 200 meters freestyle |
Silver medals
Surname | Games | sport | discipline |
---|---|---|---|
Sylvia Poll | 1988 Seoul | swim | 200 meters freestyle |
Bronze medals
Surname | Games | sport | discipline |
---|---|---|---|
Claudia Poll | 2000 Sydney | swim | 200 meters freestyle |
Claudia Poll | 2000 Sydney | swim | 400 meters freestyle |
Medals by sport
sport | gold | silver | bronze | total |
---|---|---|---|---|
swim | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4th |
total | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4th |
Web link
- Costa Rica in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
- Costa Rica on Olympic.org - The Official website of the Olympic movement (English)