2006 Winter Olympics - South American Athletes and Sports
There aren?t as many South American athletes scheduled to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics as there were in the 2004 Summer Olympics. This stands to reason, since most of the countries in South America don?t have the same kind of winters that other countries do to produce winter sports athletes. Argentina and Chile are known for their great skiing centers and it?s not surprising that these two countries have a number of athletes entered in the skiing sports.
However, they aren?t the only countries sending athletes to represent them in winter sports. Brazil, Peru and Venezuela will be there, although no winter Olympic medals have ever been won by a South American nation.
A brief recap from NBC Olympics coverage:
Argentina, which debuted at the Winter Games 1928, has been a consistent presence since 1960. Its largest delegation has been 20 athletes, in 1992. Argentina is not expected to claim its first-ever Winter Olympic medal in Torino.
Brazil has participated in the past four Olympic Winter Games. Salt Lake marked the first time Brazil sent athletes in sports other than Alpine skiing; off the slopes, Brazilians competed in bobsled, cross-country skiing and luge. With 76 Summer Olympic medals to its credit, Brazil remains in search of its first Winter Games hardware; of nations competing in Torino, only Greece (110) has won more Summer Olympic medals without earning one at a Winter Games. Brazil is not expected to contend for a medal in Torino.
Chile has never won a Winter Olympic medal, though it does boast a number of skiing regions at which elite skiers from the Northern Hemisphere train during their summers. In 1966, Portillo, Chile, hosted the World Alpine Skiing Championships; after winning the men's downhill there, Jean-Claude Killy declared it his greatest victory ever. Chile sent six athletes (four Alpine skiers, two biathletes) to Salt Lake. Chile is not expected to contend for a medal in Torino.
The Torino Games will mark Peru's Winter Olympic debut. It has won four Summer Olympic medals, three in shooting and one in women's volleyball. Peru is not expected to contend for a medal in Torino.
Venezuela made its Winter Games debut in Nagano, sending luger Iginia Boccalandro, who finished 28th of 29 participants in women's singles. Boccalandro was born in Caracas but spent much of her life in Boston and Salt Lake City, taking up luge when a knee injury drove her from volleyball and Alpine skiing. Venezuela sent four luge athletes to Salt Lake, including the father-son duo of Werner and Chris Hoeger. Werner, who was a 47-year-old professor at Boise State University, was born in Venezuela and competed in gymnastics at Brigham Young University. He was the oldest competitor in the luge field, while his son, a 17-year-old high school junior, was the youngest. Chris finished 31st, and his father was 40th. Boccalandro competed again in 2002 but failed to finish her first run. Venezuela is not expected to contend for a medal in Torino.
Opening Ceremonies is on February 10, with competitions beginning on February 11. The 2006 games continue until February 26.
Update: 02/14/2006
Armando dos Santos on the Brazilian bobsleigh team, the only "tropical" team to qualify, is sent back to Brazil after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone. He will be replaced on the team by Claudinei Quirino.
Update: 02/11/2006
All the South America teams with the exception of Peru marched in the Ahtlete's Parade during the opening ceremonies. No reason was given. Have the Peruvian athletes withdrawn from the games? Or have they not yet arrived, since their event, snowboarding, doesn't begin until February 12? Update: The Peruvian athletes did not register, and did not participate in the games.
Among the women carrying the Olympic flag into the stadium was Chilean writer Isabel Allende.
See pages 3 and 4 for the athletes and their rankings.