Athletics competitions have been held at the quadrennial Bolivarian Games since the inaugural edition 1938 in Bogotá, Colombia. A detailed history of the early editions of the Bolivarian Games between 1938 and 1989 including extensive lists of participating athletes and officials from Bolivia was published in a book written (in Spanish) by José Gamarra Zorrilla, former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, and first president (1976-1982) of ODESUR.
| Games | Year | Host city | Country | Events | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=60 | Men ! | width=60 | Women ! | width=60 | Mixed | ||
| 1938 | 23 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 1947/8 | 23 | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 1951 | 21 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 1961 | 21 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 1965 | 21 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 1970 | 22 | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 1973 | 22 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 1977 | 23 | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 1981 | 23 | 15 | 0 | ||||
| 1985 | 21 | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 1989 | 23 | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 1993 | 24 | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 1997 | 23 | 22 | 0 | ||||
| 2001 | 24 | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2005 | 24 | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2009 | 24 | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2013 | 24 | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2017 | 24 | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | 21 | 22 | 1 | ||||
Medal winners for the athletics events of the Bolivarian Games from 1938 to 2005 were published.
List of Bolivarian Games records in athletics