Category — Mexico

The infighting among Mexico’s sports officials which we blogged about earlier has not prevented Mexican athletes, 66 of them to date, from qualifying for the Olympics.

Mexico is aiming to send 85 athletes to Beijing which would be lower than the 114 athletes who competed during the Athens Olympiad where Mexico bagged four gold medals, two silvers, and two bronzes.

The reduced number of athletes is mainly due to Mexico’s failure to qualify in baseball as well as in men’s and women’s football/soccer.

If you’re wondering about Mexico’s prospects in the Olympics? Here’s what the head of its delegation thinks:

“We cannot forecast how many medals we are going to win, it is not prudent to do it because we are trying to solve this Olympic cycle. We calculate seven or nine finals, and like I have said, anything can happen in a final.”

[Read more →]

Argh! Politicking in sports. Infighting among Mexico’s sports officials has made Mexican athletes unprepared for the Olympics. Quote by distance runner Dulce Rodriquez:

“Evidently, the federation is in total disorder. We don’t know exactly where the trials are going to be, we don’t have the details and it’s ridiculous that three months before the Olympic Games we still don’t have anyone selected to do the work. But it’s an example of what’s happening here in Mexico.”

According to the LA Times another athlete, 400-meter runner Ana Guevara, the country’s most decorated track athletes, retired rather than continue training for Beijing because of what she said was corruption pervading Mexican sports.

Read the rest of Mexico’s messy affair here.