LA PAZ, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia will take part in London 2012 Olympic Games with a five athletes to participate in athletics, swimming and shooting, the Bolivian Olympic Committee ( COB) said Sunday.
The COB's technical director, Juan Jose Paz, said that the main goal of the Bolivian athletes is to improve their individual records because, in his opinion, the possibilities to win a medal are null.
"Among the athletes' aims it's to improve their current results. But, being realistic, it's very difficult to obtain a good position in Olympic Games, because there is a huge technical, economic and even social difference with other countries," said Paz.
Bolivia's best card is Claudia Balderrama, a psychology student who competes in 20-kilometer racewalking.
From the total five members of the Bolivian delegation, only Balderrama will compete with the record demanded by Olympic authorities. The other four were invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to their approximations to the records.
The COB aimed to take London a 10-member delegation, but no more invitations were received before the closing date. This time, only five athletes were confirmed, two less than in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
The whole Bolivian delegation includes 16 people from which five are athletes and the rest are coaches and directive board members.
For the majority of the athletes of many countries competing in London 2012, taking part is, in fact, a great achievement.
Paz admitted that for the athletes from Bolivia, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, the reality is harsh because they have never win an Olympic medal and their current records are very far from the rest of the competitors.