Three of the twelve athletes were taking part in their second Olympics, and one of them, race walker Luis García, participated in his fourth.

At the opening ceremony, badminton player Kevin Cordón bore Guatemala's flag.

Guatemala is a small Central American country of about 14 million people that is situated to the south of Mexico, the west of Belize, and the northwest of El Salvador and Honduras.

For most of the late 1900s, Guatemala experienced a severe political turbulences and endured a guerrilla war that lasted 36 years.

Since then, Guatemala has consistently appeared at the Summer Olympics, with all delegations (excluding 1972) including over ten athletes.

[4] Badminton player Kevin Cordón carried Guatemala's flag at the opening ceremony.

[2] Alfredo Arévalo Reyes represented Guatemala at the Beijing Olympics as one of its marathon runners.

In comparison, the gold medalist, Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, who broke the Olympic record, finished the event in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 32 seconds, while last-place finalist Atsushi Sato of Japan finished in 2 hours, 41 minutes and 8 seconds.

[6] José Amado García Gabriel also competed for Guatemala at the Beijing Olympics, and represented the nation in the men's marathon as well.

Born on 13 September 1974 in Amatitlán, a town within the vicinity of the national capital Guatemala City, García has represented Guatemala in competitive racewalking since age 21, when he competed in the men's 20 kilometers race walk in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Luis García participated in the men's 50 meters race walk as a 33-year-old at the Beijing Olympics.

In comparison, Alex Schwazer of Italy, who won the gold medal, finished the event in 3 hours, 37 minutes and 9 seconds (breaking the Olympic record), and last-place finalist Kazimir Verkin of Slovakia finished the race in 4 hours, 21 minutes and 26 seconds.

[9] Evelyn Rosmeri Núñez Fuentes was the sole female Guatemalan track athlete participating in the Beijing Olympics.

Núñez ranked last of the 43 finishing athletes, completing the race walk in 1 hour, 44 minutes and 13 seconds.

Russia's Olga Kaniskina won the gold medal, breaking an Olympic record in the process (1h26:31).

[11] Kevin Haroldo Cordón Buezo represented Guatemala as its only badminton player at the Beijing Olympics.

Born on 28 November 1986 in La Unión, a town in the inland Zacapa Department that lies on the Honduran border, Cordón was 21 years old at the time he competed in the Beijing Olympics in men's singles badminton.

Born in 1982 in Guatemala City, the national capital, Valenzuela was 25 years old at the time he entered Beijing as a competitor in the men's flyweight class, which includes athletes below 51 kilograms in weight.

While Valenzuela did not progress to later rounds, Jongjohor eventually won the gold medal in the event.

[16] Juan Andrés Rodríguez Silva participated on Guatemala's behalf as its only equestrian athlete in the Beijing Olympics.

Born in September 1971, Rodríguez was 36 years old at the time he participated in Beijing, where he qualified for the individual jumping event.

[17] Of the 77 competitors in this first portion of the event, Rodríguez tied Venezuela's Pablo Barros and Mexico's Enrique Gonzalez for 52nd place.

[18] Rita Isabel Sanz-Agero Luna represented Guatemala as its only modern pentathlete at the Beijing Olympics.

[19] Olympic modern pentathlon involved five events: shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running.

This score translated in into 1,116 points,[19] placing Sanz-Agero ahead of Russia's Tatiana Muratova and behind Italy's Claudia Corsini.

Finishing at 11:09.98, Sanz-Agero ranked 34th, defeating Australia's Angie Darby (11:21.96) and falling behind South Korea's Yun Chorong (11:47.30).

Born in July 1988, Maegli was 20 years old upon his participation in Beijing in the men's one-person Laser-class dinghy.

[26] Gisela Morales also represented Guatemala in the women's 200 meters backstroke, the second time she participated in the Olympics in that event.

[27] Christian Alberto López Bobadilla participated on Guatemala's behalf as the nation's only weightlifter at the Beijing Olympics.

Born on 30 March 1984 in the city of Coatepeque in the Quetzaltenango Department, which lies in the nation's western highlands near to the Pacific Ocean, López was 24 at the time he participated in the Beijing Olympics.