Bolivian marathoner Sania Calizaya said on Sunday that she was satisfied for having participated in the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008, although she finished 59th place with a time of 2:45.53.

According to information reaching here, this was her first Olympic experience and she told the press that "the important was that I arrived at the Bird Nest stadium, and I showed that Bolivia competed in the marathon."

Calizaya said that "it was a very tough race because of the rhythm that the vanguard set and due to the humid, but I have achieved more or less the mark that I proposed when coming here, that it was of two hrs and 45 minutes."

"This was my first Olympic experience, and that important for me is to have finished the race, although I was tempted to leave it," Calizaya said.

Calizaya also hoped that with her performance, the Bolivian sports authorities give the needed support to aspire to be again at an Olympic competition "as it will be in four years in London 2012."

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2008)