Colombia’s elite athletes have arrived in London for what is expected to be the country’s best performance at the Olympic Games.
A day before the official opening of the London Olympics, 90 of Colombia’s 104 athletes have already made their way to the Athlete’s Village.
Colombia will field 58 women and 46 men across 18 sports. Colombian media have already dubbed the contingent, “The inspiration of a generation.”
On July 19, the head of Colombia’s Olympic mission, Ciro Solano, said “Colombian sport has been greatly professionalized in recent years. For that reason, we believe we can surpass our historic record (…) and win four at these Games.”
The London 2012 will be the first time Colombia has fielded more than 100 athletes. By comparison, only 37 Colombians competed in Beijing four years ago.
Colombia’s embassy in London held a reception Thursday to officially welcome the delegation.
The 2012 Summer Olympics run from July 27 to August 12.