Team Ecuador - Profile

Highlights: Ecuador first competed at the Olympic Games in 1924, sending three athletes to Paris. The NOC did not compete again until the 1968 Games in Mexico City, where swimmer Tamara Orejuela became the first female athlete to represent Ecuador at the Olympic Games.

Race walker Jefferson Perez is Ecuador's leading athlete at the Olympic Games. Debuting at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, he recorded a DNF in the 20km walk. He then won gold in the same event four years later in Atlanta to become the first Ecuadorian athlete from any sport to finish on the podium at the Olympic Games. He placed fourth in the 20km walk in both 2000 and 2004, also competing in the 50km walk at the Athens Games, before claiming silver in the 20km event on his final Olympic appearance in Beijing. He remains the only Ecuadorian athlete to have won a medal at the Olympic Games, and also holds the NOC's Olympic appearance record with five.

The Ecuadorian athlete delegation has been steadily growing in recent years. After sending 25 competitors to the 2008 Games in Beijing, a new high for the NOC, Ecuador was represented by 36 athletes in London and 38 in Rio de Janeiro. Weightlifter Alexandra Escobar, who was making her fourth Olympic appearance at the 2016 Games, recorded Ecuador's best result in Brazil by placing fourth in the women's 58kg category.

Anthem Title: Salve, O Patria [We Salute You Our Homeland].

Anthem Composer: Words by Juan Leon Mera. Music by Antonio Neumane.

Anthem Inducted: 1948

Official NOC Name: Comite Olimpico Ecuatoriano

Founding Date: 1948

IOC Recognition Date: 1959

Delegation President: Augusto Moran Nuques

Delegation Secretary General: John Zambrano Haboud

First OG/PG Appearance: 1924

Number OG/PG Appearances: 15 [Tokyo 2020 included]

Summary: