Colonialism and Olympism: The Emergence of Puerto Rican Olympic Representation

Soon after the Spanish American War of 1898 the U.S. colonial regime in Puerto Rico sought to institutionalize an overarching Americanization program nowhere else seen in Latin America. Some have argued that the introduction and systematic incorporation of sports in Puerto Rican life was a vital part of this Americanization project. To the contrary, other scholars argue that sports served as an essential tool for the formation and embodiment of the Puerto Rican national spirit. This paper will argue that sport in Puerto Rican society actually served both causes: Americanization and National Identity. This can be seen through a closer look at the emergence of Puerto Rican Olympic representation. On the one hand, teachers spread the idea that U.S. sports were beneficial for the mind and body. However, this meant that through the promotion of U.S. sports Puerto Ricans were made into fully American citizens under an American athletic and physical culture. On the other hand, sport education paved the way for the selection of athletes to represent the island in Olympic international competitions such as the Central American and Caribbean Games, which led to the formation of the Puerto Rican national team. The problem with Puerto Rican international representation, by occurring in an open colonial context, is that it has led to dual meanings. For some United States officials the establishment of the Puerto Rican Olympic team was a collection of U.S. athletes, while for some Puerto Ricans the Olympic team represented a “national” Puerto Rican squad. Ultimately, the duality in meanings of Puerto Rican Olympism may be interpreted as the pervasive power of both hegemony and national identity, which when combined can lead to the preservation of colonialism.