| "> | | | | record. Yet he lost the chance to be an Olympic |
| Road to the 2016 London Olympics! | | | | athlete when Argentina, under the dictatorship of |
| XXII Summer Games | | | | Rafael Videla (1976-81), boycotted the 1980 Moscow |
| Did you know- The 22nd Olympiad in the USSR | | | | Summer Games to protest the Soviet Union's invasion |
| -present day Russia-was boycotted by Paraguay | | | | of Afghanistan. Paraguayan-born Steinier competed in |
| -under the dictatorship of President Alfredo Stroessner | | | | the United States and Europe. |
| (1954-1989)- because of the Soviet invasion of | | | | Women's Basketball |
| Afghanistan. Due to its modest performance in the | | | | Did you know- By the early 1950s, in Asunción, |
| Pan American Games in San Juan de Puerto Rico | | | | the team from Paraguay -host nation- won the |
| (1979), Paraguay had a list of five athletes to the 1980 | | | | Women's Basketball South American Cup. It was the |
| Moscow Olympics, among them was Claudio | | | | first time the national team had won the regional event. |
| Escauriza, who had won a bronze medal in the men's | | | | Subsequently, this Spanish-speaking country was listed |
| decathlon at the South American Championships in the | | | | among the world's best five teams, behind America, |
| late 70s. | | | | Chile, France and Brazil, when they competed in the |
| Sportswomen | | | | global tournament in Santiago de Chile. Paraguay also |
| Did you know- Paraguay is home to some popular | | | | came in first place in the South American |
| sportswomen in South America: Rossana de los Rios | | | | Championships in 1962. |
| (tennis), Paola Viveros (taekwondo), Ingrid Meilicke | | | | Sports |
| (track & field), Larissa Scharever (tennis), and | | | | Did you know- The country's most popular sports |
| Natalia Toledo (athletics). | | | | include soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, athletics, chess, |
| Tito Steinier | | | | and volleyball. |
| Did you know- Argentina's athlete Tito Steinier was | | | | 2004 Athens Games |
| born in Paraguay. Between 1975 and 1981, Mr Steinier | | | | Did you know- This Latin American nation won its first |
| became one of Latin America's most respected | | | | ever Olympic medal when the national squad earned a |
| decathletes. In the South American Championships in | | | | silver medal in men's football at the 2004 Athens |
| Rio de Janeiro, between August 26 and August 31, | | | | Olympics. |
| 1975, he finished first in the decathlon competition, with | | | | Victor Manuel Pecci |
| 7,615 points. At the 1979 Pan American Games in the | | | | Did you know- Paraguay is the birthplace of Victor |
| Caribbean, a pre-Olympic tournament, he earned a | | | | Manuel Pecci, who was one of Latin America's best |
| silver medal in the men's decathlon, and won the right | | | | tennis players in the 70s and mid-80s, along with |
| to compete in the Summer Olympics in the Soviet | | | | Guillermo Vilas (Argentina) and Patricio Cornejo (Chile). |
| Union. At the same time, he set a Latin American | | | | |