| Host city | Caracas |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Nations | 6 |
| Athletes | 1010 |
| Opening | December 5, 1951 (1951-12-05) |
| Closing | December 21, 1951 (1951-12-21) |
| Opened by | Germán Suárez Flamerich |
| Athlete's Oath | Leopoldo Márquez |
| Torch lighter | Carlos Feo |
| Main venue | Estadio Olímpico de la Universidad Central de Venezuela |
TheIIIBolivarian Games (Spanish:Juegos Bolivarianos) were amulti-sport event held between December 5–21, 1951, at theEstadio Olímpico de la Universidad Central de Venezuela inCaracas,Venezuela. The Games were organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (ODEBO).
The Games were officially opened byGermán Suárez Flamerich, who became president of the "Junta de Gobierno" 1950-1952, after the assassination ofCarlos Delgado Chalbaud.
A detailed history of the early editions of the Bolivarian Games between 1938 and 1989 was published in a book written (in Spanish) by José Gamarra Zorrilla, former president of theBolivian Olympic Committee, and first president (1976-1982) ofODESUR.[1] Gold medal winners from Ecuador were published by theComité Olímpico Ecuatoriano.[2]

A total of 1010 athletes from 6 countries were reported to participate:[1]
The local Organizing Committee included three popular Venezuelan sports (Basque pelota,Bolas criollas, andColeo) as exhibition events. The following sports were explicitly mentioned:[1][2][3][4][5]
†: Exhibition event.
The list might be incomplete.
The medal count for these Games is tabulated below.[6]This table is sorted by the number ofgold medals earned by each country. The number ofsilver medals is taken into consideration next, and then the number ofbronze medals.
| 1951 Bolivarian Games Medal Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | 40 | 39 | 25 | 104 | |
| 2 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 95 | |
| 3 | 18 | 7 | 12 | 37 | |
| 4 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 53 | |
| 5 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 16 | |
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | |
| Total | 108 | 108 | 96 | 312 | |