# Athletics at the 1961 Bolivarian Games

Athletics competitions at the 1961 Bolivarian Games were held in Barranquilla, Colombia, in December, 1961.
A detailed history of the early editions of the Bolivarian Games between 1938 and 1989 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. Gold medal winners from Ecuador were published by the Comité Olímpico Ecuatoriano.
A total of 30 events were contested, 21 by men and 9 by women.

## Medal summary

Medal winners were published.

### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Horacio Esteves (VEN) | 10.4 | Rafael Romero (VEN) | 10.6 | Sidney Dobrs (PAN) | 10.8 |
| 200 metres | Rafael Romero (VEN) | 21.4 | Horacio Esteves (VEN) | 21.5 | Mario Brown (PAN) | 22.3 |
| 400 metres | Humberto Brown (PAN) | 49.0 | Pedro González (COL) | 49.9 | Arístides Pineda (VEN) | 50.3 |
| 800 metres | José Neira (COL) | 1:53.0 | Álvaro Mejía (COL) | 1:55.5 | Harley Romero (COL) | 1:57.7 |
| 1500 metres | José Neira (COL) | 4:00.1 | Álvaro Mejía (COL) | 4:02.7 | Harvey Borrero (COL) | 4:06.3 |
| 5000 metres | Manuel Cabrera (COL) | 16:14.2 | José Chacón (COL) | 16:15.0 | Luis Navas (COL) | |
| 10,000 metres | Manuel Cabrera (COL) | 34:03.1 | Luis Navas (COL) | 34:04.8 | Hernán Barreneche (COL) | 34:36.5 |
| Half Marathon | Luis Navas (COL) | 1:11:58 | Hernán Barreneche (COL) | 1:12:29 | Florentino Oropesa (VEN) | 1:14:27 |
| 110 metres hurdles | Teófilo Davis Bell (VEN) | 14.8 | Juan Muñoz (VEN) | 14.8 | Arturo Perkins (PAN) | 15.1 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Víctor Maldonado (VEN) | 54.0 | Arístides Pineda (VEN) | 55.1 | Arturo Perkins (PAN) | 55.3 |
| High Jump | Roberto Abugattás (PER) | 1.80 | Ramón Bastardo (VEN) | 1.75 | Héctor Thomas (VEN) | 1.75 |
| Pole Vault | César Quintero (COL) | 3.80 | Brígido Iriarte (VEN) | 3.70 | José Restrepo (COL) | 3.40 |
| Long Jump | Juan Muñoz (VEN) | 7.22 | Ramón Bastardo (VEN) | 6.89 | Clive Bonas (VEN) | 6.81 |
| Triple Jump | Asnoldo Devonish (VEN) | 14.13 | Olguer Ortiz (COL) | 13.32 | Juan Muñoz (VEN) | 13.32 |
| Shot Put | José Bracho (VEN) | 14.45 | Héctor Thomas (VEN) | 13.93 | Dagoberto González (COL) | 13.79 |
| Discus Throw | Dagoberto González (COL) | 46.05 | Héctor Thomas (VEN) | 45.42 | Daniel Cereali (VEN) | |
| Hammer Throw | Daniel Cereali (VEN) | 50.43 | Marcelino Borrero (COL) | 47.05 | Luis Vargas (COL) | 45.12 |
| Javelin Throw | Jesús Rodríguez (VEN) | 67.24 | Héctor Thomas (VEN) | 66.43 | Luis Zárate (PER) | 60.83 |
| Pentathlon | Héctor Thomas (VEN) | 3161 | Roberto Caravaca (VEN) | | Hernando Gutiérrez (COL) | |
| 4 x 100 metres relay | Venezuela | 42.0 | Panama | | Colombia | |
| 4 x 400 metres relay | Venezuela | 3:21.8 | Colombia | 3:26.0 | Panama | 3:26.3 |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Jean Holmes (PAN) | 12.1 | Silvia Hunte (PAN) | 12.5 | Jean Price (PAN) | 13.0 |
| 200 metres | Jean Holmes (PAN) | 25.4 | Silvia Hunte (PAN) | 26.5 | Jean Price (PAN) | 26.9 |
| 80 metres hurdles | Benilda Ascanio (VEN) | 12.6 | Nerva Matheus (VEN) | 13.6 | Nubia Sánchez (COL) | 13.8 |
| High Jump | Lidia Velasco (COL) | 1.50 | Benilda Ascanio (VEN) | 1.40 | Carmen Méndez (VEN) | 1.40 |
| Long Jump | Benilda Ascanio (VEN) | 4.91 | Gisela Vidal (VEN) | 4.83 | Alba López (COL) | 4.77 |
| Shot Put | Francisca Roberts (VEN) | 12.10 | Mercedes García (COL) | 10.70 | Nerva Matheus (VEN) | 10.64 |
| Discus Throw | Mercedes García (COL) | 35.67 | Ana Sánchez (COL) | 34.20 | Raquel Ortiz (COL) | 33.86 |
| Javelin Throw | Alba López (COL) | 34.91 | Francisca Roberts (VEN) | 32.92 | Emma Alvear (COL) | 32.48 |
| 4 x 100 metres relay | Panama | 50.0 | Colombia | 51.7 | Venezuela | 52.3 |

## Medal table (unofficial)

* Host nation (Colombia)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Venezuela (VEN) | 15 | 15 | 9 | 39 |
| 2 | Colombia (COL)* | 10 | 12 | 13 | 35 |
| 3 | Panama (PAN) | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Peru (PER) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals (4 entries) | Totals (4 entries) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 90 |