1978 Southern Cross Games
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| Host city | La Paz | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country |
 Bolivia | ||
| Nations participating | 8 | ||
| Athletes participating | 480 | ||
| Events | 16 sports | ||
| Opening ceremony | November 3, 1978 | ||
| Closing ceremony | November 12, 1978 | ||
| Athlete's Oath | Edgar Cueto | ||
| Torch Lighter | Roberto Prado | ||
| Main venue | Estadio Olímpico Hernando Siles | ||
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The I Southern Cross Games (Spanish: Juegos Cruz del Sur) were a multi-sport event held from November 3 to November 12, 1978 in La Paz, Bolivia, with some events in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
La Paz already organized last year's Bolivarian Games and, with the necessary infrastructure already being present, hosted the majority of the events. Cochabamba hosted men's basketball, judo, tennis, and men's volleyball, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, hosted equestrian, fencing, women's volleyball, and weightlifting.
This was the first edition of what would later be the South American Games, organized by the South American Sports Organization (ODESUR).[1] An appraisal of the games and detailed medal lists were published elsewhere,[2] emphasizing the results of the Argentinian teams. There is a further publication emphasizing on the Bolivian athletes.[3]
The South American Torch was ligthed by Bolivian athletes Roberto Prado in La Paz, Isabel Alemán in Cochabamba, and José Ernesto Roca in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The Athlete's Oath was sworn by cyclist Edgar Cueto in La Paz, by judoka Ladislao Moravek in Cochabamba, and by fencer Luís Darío Vásquez in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[3]
Medal count
The medal count for these Games is tabulated below. This table is sorted by the number of gold medals earned by each country. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next, and then the number of bronze medals.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina | 91 | 53 | 45 | 189 |
| 2 |  Chile | 31 | 25 | 20 | 76 |
| 3 | Bolivia | 20 | 42 | 44 | 106 |
| 4 |  Ecuador | 13 | 8 | 6 | 27 |
| 5 |  Peru | 9 | 16 | 10 | 35 |
| 6 |  Uruguay | 4 | 16 | 12 | 32 |
| 7 |  Paraguay | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 8 |  Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 171 | 163 | 141 | 475 | |
Sports
A total number of 480 athletes competed for medals in sixteen sports:
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Note:† One source only references 15 events with no indication for baseball in the medal lists.[2]
References
- ↑ LA PAZ 78, BOLÍVIA, I JUEGOS SUDAMERICANOS, Fecha de apertura: 3 de noviembre de 1978, Fecha de clausura: 12 de noviembre de 1978 (in Spanish), ODESUR, retrieved June 2, 2012
- 1 2 Rodríguez III, Ernesto (2010), LIBROS DEL CICLO OLÍMPICO ARGENTINO - Libro I de los Juegos Odesur 1978-2010 (in Spanish) (1st ed.), Buenos Aires: Alarco Ediciones, p. 192, ISBN 978-987-1367-18-4, retrieved June 2, 2012
- 1 2 ODESUR (in Spanish), Fondo de Inversión para el Deporte, La Paz - Bolivia, retrieved June 6, 2012
External links
- La Paz 78 ODESUR page
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