Although in March 2022 the government of Guillermo Lass determined that national sport is a state policy, the resources of the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee, the Paralympic Committee and the Ecuadorian sports federations have been reduced. Not only was the budget cut, but the money arrived quite late. Athletes in some cases had to draw raffles to attend international competitions, federation leaders made personal arrangements in banking entities to finance transfers outside the country or, as in the case of the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023, the COE paid During the trip, the uniforms of the representatives of the tricolor .

The criticized management of former minister Sebastián Palacios included conflict with the COE. He accused his officials of trying to destabilize the regime when they complained about the delay in money transfers, which in certain periods could be as long as three or four months.

Despite everything, the Ecuadorian delegation won 36 medals (7 gold, 12 silver and 17 bronze) at the Pan American Games, the largest medal haul for the country in the history of the competition, which has been held since 1951.

The notable performance of the athletes at the continental competition meant for Ecuador the last stop before entering the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 (July 26 to August 11). What are the aspirations at this meeting, the highest level in the year that is about to begin, was discussed by Jorge Delgado Panchana (photo), president of the COE Newspaper EL UNIVERSO.

“First and foremost is the economic part. This applies to implementation, uniforms, travel, registrations and insight into how many athletes qualify for Paris 2024. We are doing relevant follow-up on every qualified athlete and expect more. We will make sure that the Ministry of Sports has all the necessary information so that there are no delays in the delivery of funds, which is the most important thing,” said Delgado.

The former swimmer, a two-time Olympic finalist, was asked about how many athletes are estimated to seal their tickets to the Olympics. OO. and it read: “49 have qualified for Tokyo 2020, the largest number in our history. But for 2024 there are changes in the qualification rules of some sports. The aspiration is always to have the same number, but due to changes it may be less. But it is too early to say, for now we aim to have as many as possible, however, the changes that have been made are what will affect us the most.”

Despite having world-class female wrestlers (such as Lucía Yépez and Luisa Valverde, both Olympic medal hopefuls), Delgado made a worrying confirmation. “Two fighters went to Tokyo and Paris, instead of two, maybe only one will go. Such situations will occur due to the new classification rules. In open waters, for example, the quota has also been reduced. If fewer athletes go, it is not because they have stopped being good, but because they have tightened the classification methods. It is unfair because we want to have the largest number of representatives.”

In Tokyo 2020, Ecuador won two gold medals, with cyclist Richard Carapaza and weightlifter Neisi Dajomes, and silver with Tamara Salazar, in weightlifting. What’s on the horizon in Paris? For Delgado, “it is important to compete, but apparently Ecuador stopped being a participant and became a protagonist. That is what we hope to continue to be. That’s what we strive for and that’s what we focus all our efforts on.”

Regarding the relationship with the Ministry of Sports, which is now headed by Andrés Guschmer, Delgado said that on December 19 they met with an official. “The document of requirements and recommendations prepared by the COE, together with several alliances, and physically a lot of information with our most urgent needs, have been delivered again.”

They asked the president of this organization what the COE is asking from the ministry. “The budget for the athletes to go to their qualifying tournaments for the Olympic Games. And we are asking for that until yesterday and we are asking you to resolve it with the Ministry of Finance. Federations and COEs did not receive their funds. Salaries have to be paid and that creates problems for us. Secondly, today we have four sponsors, before we didn’t have any, and we hope to increase them.”

Editor’s note: Dear reader, this information is part of our premium content prepared at the end of 2023. In its content, you will find one of the highlights of this year, and that is why we have left your access open. (D)