Museo Olímpico

Lomas de Sotelo, Hipódromo de las Américas, Miguel Hidalgo, 11200 Mexico City

In 1968 Mexico City hosted the Summer Olympic Games and the event changed the city in a number of ways, it modernized the public transport system (the Metro system was inaugurated one year later), it brought a number of modern (for that era) sports facilities such as the Estadio Universitario in UNAM and the Olympic Pool, and left a number of other landmarks as part of the city’s landscape, such as the Olympic villas that were constructed for the athletes, trainers, officials, and members of the press. Decades later the Museo Olímpico (Olympic Museum) finally opened its doors; it was in 1994 that the exhibit was inaugurated in order for the public to witness objects and mementos of Mexican sportsmen and sportswomen from the Olympic Games throughout the decades, as well as the Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe (“Central American Caribbean Games”) and the Juegos Deportivos Panamericanos (“Pan American Games”). The exhibit includes awards given out at these sports events too.

One of the highlights of the Museo Olímpico is the Paseo de los Medallistas (“Medalists Corridor”), which is dedicated to the Mexican Olympic medalists and includes their names and photographs, it also has on display the Presidents of the Comité Olímpico Mexicano (Mexican Olympic Committee) as well as different Olympic paraphernalia such as invitations, certificates, and other diverse documents given to the Mexican Olimpic Committee. Workshops and conferences are sometimes available at the museum. It’s located at the site of the Mexican Olimpic Committee headquarters on the intersection of Periférico and Del Conscripto avenue, in the western part of Mexico City, practically right next door to the Hipódromo de las Americas (Racetrack of the Americas) and the Centro Citibanamex convention center.

Depending on the time of year, visitors can also catch a glimpse of athletes arriving at the center to practice, as the headquarters is also a multi-disciplinary Olympic training facility. The Mexican Olympic Committee first came together in 1923 even though Mexico participated in its first Summer Olympic Games back in 1900. This museum is dedicated to the spirit and culture of Olympic sports in Mexico, access is free.

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