| Noc: | COL |
| Nocname: | Colombian Olympic Committee |
| Games: | Winter Olympics |
| Year: | 2010 |
| Website: | |
| Location: | Vancouver |
| Competitors: | 1 |
| Sports: | 1 |
| Flagbearer: | Cynthia Denzler |
| Gold: | 0 |
| Silver: | 0 |
| Bronze: | 0 |
| Appearances: | auto |
Colombia competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.[1]
Colombia first participated in the Summer Olympics in 1932, with one athlete, Jorge Perry,[2] when the Colombian Olympic Committee did not exist. The committee was formed in 1936.[3] Between 1932 and 2010, Colombia competed in five Summer Olympics, winning eleven medals.[4] In the late 1990s, President of Federation of Skating Carlos Orlando Ferreira proposed training for speed skating athletes, but this proposition was unsuccessful after a lack of funding.[5] Colombia first participated in the Winter Olympics in 2010.[6]
The efforts of Hanspeter Denzler and Colombian Olympic Committee president and IOC member Andrés Botero led to the establishment of a Colombian ski team in 2007.[7] In 2010, Colombia's delegation consisted of skier Cynthia Denzler, her father Hanspeter, and his brother Fabian, both of which served as coaches.[8] [9] The delegation flew to Vancouver on 10 February and stayed in the Olympic Village.[10] Cynthia Denzler said, "it is an honour to compete for Colombia and I am happy to do so. Representing the country during the Winter Olympics is a good thing and a dream come true."[11]
See main article: 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and closing ceremony. Colombia was one of five nations from South America participating in these Winter Olympics.[12] The opening ceremony was dedicated to Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died on the day of the opening ceremony in a fatal crash.[13] [14] Greece opened the parade of nations, followed by Canada.[15] Colombia was the nineteenth of 82 delegations to enter the BC Place stadium, after China and before Croatia.[12] [16] Denzler was the flag bearer.[12] At the closing ceremony, which took place at BC Place, the flag bearers formed a circle around the Olympic flame.[17] The flagbearer again was Denzler.[18]
See main article: Alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Colombia assigned its sole delegate, Cynthia Denzler, to alpine skiing. Despite being born in California,[7] she was allowed to compete for Colombia after her father became a citizen of the country.[19]
| Athlete | Event | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Total | Rank | |||
| Cynthia Denzler | Giant slalom | DNF | DNF | |||
| Slalom | 1:01.14 | 1:01.25 | 2:02.39 | 51 | ||