Guatemalans without a flag at the Central American and Caribbean Games

It was June 25, ten in the morning. Everything was ready at the Ex-Polvorín Aquatic Complex in San Salvador to start the artistic swimming competition at the Central American and Caribbean Games. To one side of the imposing Olympic-size swimming pool was another stage for ping pong players. And in other stadiums, other athletes competed for gold, silver or bronze medals in other disciplines.

In the stands in front of the Olympic pool that morning, the public waved at least four flags from different countries. Some shouted Up Colombia! Others Long live Mexico! And the moderator, seeing the public’s encouragement, smiled because he knew that it would be easier for him to do his job with such a lively public.

The Colombians danced a bit of vallenato. Others, with mariachi hats, wanted to make the rancheras a danceable rhythm; and the youngest, from the Dominican Republic, moved for a few seconds to the rhythm of the singer Bad Bunny. They all represented something: a song, a flag, a name. Everyone except Guatemala.

“Where is the public of Centro Caribe Sports?” Shouted a lively moderator that morning and silence was felt in the place. A few seconds later, “¡Arriba Guatemala!” was heard. It was a brave couple, in the corner from the stands, who knew that their country should not be named in the competitions of the Central American games, but decided to take a risk.”Yes, Guatemala!”, They were accompanied by a supportive moderator who initially knew that Centro Caribe Sports was what it should be called to the Guatemala of the men of corn.

Guatemalan athletes cannot experience the excitement of the Central American and Caribbean Games with the colors of their flag. They cannot listen to their country’s anthem or cheer on the choirs of their national team. The Central American country was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the Constitutional Court of that country intervened in an election process to direct the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG), an action prohibited by the international entity.

That Court, which today maintains some 300 Guatemalan players without a flag in the games held in El Salvador, has also intervened in the Guatemalan elections. by paralyzing indefinitely the second electoral round.

“I carry my country in my heart and in my mind,” said Guatemalan athlete Jorge Vega when he received the gold medal in artistic gymnastics on June 27. His silent celebration has been that of many other Guatemalan competitors. Vega He is one of the most recognized athletes in his country after having won gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz 2014 and Barranquilla 2018.

Another athlete in competition is Érick Gordillo who has three gold medals and has not been able to hear his country’s anthem at any of the medal ceremonies. Head down and with a slight smile from time to time, Gordillo received his first gold medal for winning the 200-meter butterfly swimming competition on June 24.

“As an athlete, what you want most is to go to a competition, win and listen to the anthem of your country. This had never happened to me in all the years that I have competed, and this time, being the most important games in my career, it hurt me,” the athlete told the Guatemalan outlet Prensa Libre.

Until July 7, Guatemala was in the seventh position of the medal table in competition with 27 more teams. Central American athletes have won 67 medals: 15 are gold, 23 silver and 29 bronze.

In order to compete in El Salvador, the Guatemalan athletes requested shelter from the Centro Caribe Sports entity, which organizes the event, and promised not to refer to the symbols of their country, to compete under the entity’s flag and to wear the color white, which is far from the colorful symbols that characterize the crafts and fabrics of that country.

“The chapín athlete [como se les conoce a los ciudadanos de Guatemala] he is a proud athlete. Competing without being able to see or hear his anthem and his flag, that is sacred. When they win a medal they sing the anthem in their hearts,” said the president of Centro Caribe Sports in a television interview on the program Facing in El Salvador.

The dispute that gave rise to the current situation of the Guatemalan athletes arose because the International Olympic Committee did not know the results of the 2021 elections to direct the entity, after irregularities in the process were known. For this reason, he requested that the elections be repeated without the participation of the Federated Sports Electoral Tribunal, which found protection in the Constitutional Court.

Under the protection of the Court, the International Olympic Committee agreed to ignore the National Olympic Committee and imposed an indefinite sanction from October 2022.

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