Off the wire
• Thousands evacuated as wildfire rages in west Canada  • Urgent: Donald Trump projected to win crucial Indiana primary: report  • Brazil's House speaker accused of being involved in organized crime  • Infants with vaccinated moms less likely to get flu: study  • Kerry warns Syria's Assad of "repercussions" over ceasefire violations  • Chinese envoy calls for protecting medical personnel in conflicts  • French interior minister rules out ban of nocturnal protest despite violent incidents  • UN chief to appoint Erik Solheim of Norway as new UN environment head  • Canadian stocks plunge over resources fall, growth concerns  • European Commission says growth definitely resumes in Cyprus  
You are here: 　 Home

66 Venezuelan athletes qualify for Rio Olympics

Xinhua, May 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Venezuela's Jose Pena became the 66th athlete to qualify nationally for the Rio Olympic Games in Brazil, which will take place from August 5 to 21.

On Tuesday, Venezuela's Ministry for Youth and Sport confirmed that the athlete reached the minimum amount of points required by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to qualify for Rio 2016

Pena came in seventh place at the Payton Jordan Invitational tournament held in California of the United States. He completed a time of eight minutes, 29:60 seconds in the 3,000 meters steeplechase.

It will be the second Olympic Games for the Venezuelan track and field athlete after competing in London 2012 where he obtained a national record in his category during the qualifiers.

After Pena's classification, Youth and Sport Minister, Mervin Maldonado, said the national delegation for Rio 2016 will reach 70 athletes.

This number implies that Venezuela aims to exceed the number of participants they had in the London 2012 Olympics.

"Its a testament to all the dedication that our athletes have had, their effort, discipline, perseverance and love for their country," said Maldonado.

The President of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (COV), Eduardo Alvarez, said that the nation "is getting closer to its target and there are still outstanding athletes that are fighting to qualify. There is still hope. Congratulations."

"There are still over 80 athletes hoping to qualify and we know that we can reach the proposed target. We are also looking for the flag bearer which will have to be an exemplary athlete," said the COV president.

Venezuela launched a survey on April 25, through various media, to choose the country's flag bearer that will participate in the parade at the Rio 2016 official opening ceremony.

Among the nominated outstanding athletes are Andreina Pinto (swimming), Ruben Limardo (fencing), Albert Subirats (swimming) and Yulimar Rojas (athletics). Endit