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The XI South American Games 2018 are underway as athletes arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia from across Latin America and the Caribbean for a fortnight of competition.
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Beginning May 26, the event unites 14 countries in 374 events, including bowling, wrestling, judo, badminton, fencing, cycling, water polo, soccer and gymnastics. Over 4,000 athletes will compete in this year's event, coming to a close on June 2.
Per tradition, the winners will be offered a small memento of this year's mascots: the ukumari bear and a jaguar. The former is an endangered animal from the Andean region.
Organizers originally intended to keep the spirit of South America by incorporating the coca leaf in the ceremonies and casting the prize medals in the shape of the staple plant. However, the idea met with some criticism: the World Anti-Doping Agency pointed out that athletes are banned from consuming coca due to its metabolites content, consistent with cocaine.
Although the coca leaf is an important part of Bolivian culture, critics alleged the cultural piece didn't belong in the international sports event.
"I would not disagree if we used it for only national athletes, but we have athletes from other countries coming," said Arturo Murillo, a senator from the Bolivian Democratic Unity Party.
"Although the representation of coca is something from Bolivian tradition, it also represents the production of cocaine that does so much harm to young people; it does not go hand-in-hand with sports."
The event has been a yearly tradition on the continent since 1974 and is sometimes referred to as the Odesur Games, an abbreviation of the Suramericana Sports Organization.
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