Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

made its Paralympic Games

Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...

 début at the 1976 Summer Paralympics

1976 Summer Paralympics

The 1976 Summer Paralympics were the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Toronto, in the province of Ontario, Canada from August 3 to 11, 1976...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, with competitors taking part in track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, table tennis and wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair basketball

Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...

. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, except 1984

1984 Summer Paralympics

The 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in two separate locations, Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom and in the Mitchel Athletic Complex and Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, United States of America The 1984 Summer Paralympics were the...

, but has never entered the Winter Paralympics.

Colombians have won a total of four medals at the Paralympic Games: one gold, one silver and two bronze. Pedro Mejia won the country's first medals when he took a gold and a bronze in swimming in 1980

1980 Summer Paralympics

The 1980 Summer Paralympics were the sixth Paralympic Games. They were held in Papendal, close to the host city of Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 21 to 30, 1980.- Sports :...

. His winning time of 1:27.88 in the final of the 100m breaststroke, D category, set a new world record. Colombia had to wait 28 years for its next two medals, which both came in the 2008 Games

2008 Summer Paralympics

The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....

. Elkin Serna

Elkin Serna

Elkin Serna is a Paralympian athlete from Colombia competing mainly in category T12 long distance events.He competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China...

 ran the men's marathon in 2:31:16 in the T12 category for athletes with severe visual disability, finishing less than a minute behind Chinese athlete Qi Shun

Qi Shun

Qi Shun is a Paralympian athlete from China competing mainly in category T12 long distance events.He competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece...

's world record time of 2:30:32, and took silver. Moises Fuentes

Moisés Fuentes

Moisés Fuentes Rubio is a Mexican professional boxer in the strawweight division and is the current World Boxing Organization strawweight champion.-Professional career:...

 won bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke in the SB4 category.

List of medallists

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event
	Pedro Mejia	1980 Arnhem 1980 Summer Paralympics The 1980 Summer Paralympics were the sixth Paralympic Games. They were held in Papendal, close to the host city of Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 21 to 30, 1980.- Sports :...	Swimming Swimming at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Swimming at the 1980 Summer Paralympics consisted of 192 events.In certain events, there were only three competitors, thus guaranteeing each a medal upon successfully completing the race. In others, there were fewer than three; in the women's 4x100 metre freestyle relay C-D, for instance, the...	Men's 100 m Breaststroke D
	Elkin Serna Elkin Serna Elkin Serna is a Paralympian athlete from Colombia competing mainly in category T12 long distance events.He competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China...	2008 Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....	Athletics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in Beijing National Stadium from September 8 to September 17. There were 160 gold medals in this sport.-Classification:Athletes are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability...	Men's Marathon T12
	Pedro Mejia	1980 Arnhem	Swimming	Men's 100 m Backstroke C-D
	Moises Fuentes Moisés Fuentes Moisés Fuentes Rubio is a Mexican professional boxer in the strawweight division and is the current World Boxing Organization strawweight champion.-Professional career:...	2008 Beijing	Swimming Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics The swimming events of the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in the Beijing National Aquatics Center between September 7 and September 15, 2008. A total of 140 gold medals were expected to be distributed.-Classifications:...	Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB4