Mexico to Send 120 Strong Squad for Rio Olympics

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Zika, security concerns overblown says Rio Olympics boss (PBS NewsHour)

A total of 120 Mexican athletes will participate in the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Mexican Olympic Committee (COM) President Carlos Padilla has announced.

"All (athletes) will be going with dignity representing Mexico so that we can achieve the best results," Padilla said during a news conference last week.

The sporting director acknowledged that it is the first time that Mexico will have a significant number of athletes and he added that all of them qualified as a result of their quality and several years of training.

"The quality of the athletes is more important than the quantity," Padilla said.

For Padilla, even though it is difficult to predict the number of medals the Mexican delegation could win, he reminded that Mexico has stood out internationally in sports such as diving, taekwondo and archery.

"We can't rule out athletics, boxing and shooting, where I hope we will have good results," the COM president added.

Padilla also said that because this Olympic Games they have not been able to count on economic support from the Mexican government, the committee have had to obtain the funding from elsewhere to cover needs such as security and health.