In 2025, several Colombian sports leaders died, leaving a significant mark on disciplines such as football, cycling and weightlifting.
Personalities such as Jaiber Manjarrés, coach of the Olympic champions, Miguel Ángel “Zurdo” López, Junior FC legend, and Roberto “Pajarito” Buitrago, champion of the Vuelta a Colombia, said goodbye this year along with other protagonists who marked times.
The Colombian Olympic Committee confirmed the death of coach Jaiber Manjarrés, a reference in weightlifting in Colombia and coach of Olympic champions such as María Isabel Urrutia. Gold winner in Sydney 2000 and Oscar Figueroa, gold medal in Rio 2016.
Jaiber Manjarrés’ legacy has had a lasting impact on the development of athletes and coaches, due to the influence of Bulgarian Gantcho Karouskov.
His contribution, recognized for the guidance of Antonio Ochoa and José Ney López as well as his academic training at the Universidad del Valle, marked the growth of the sport in the country.
The death of Miguel Ángel “El Zurdo” López at the age of 83 in Barranquilla plunged Junior de Barranquilla and all of Colombian football into mourning.
The former Argentine football player and coach, a central figure in the club’s history, was instrumental in winning the 2004 championship when the team defeated Atlético Nacional in the Colombian football final at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellín.
Throughout his career, López led the Barranquilla team several times and established himself as a reference for fans due to his leadership qualities and the respect with which he defended the club’s colors.
“He will be remembered for his leadership, his charisma and the respect with which he always defended our colors,” posted Junior de Barranquilla on his social networks.
El Zurdo López’s legacy achieved international prominence as both a player and a coach. In Argentina he joined teams such as Club Atlético Independiente, where he won eight titles, including four Copa Libertadores. He came to Colombia in 1976 and defended the Atlético Nacional jersey before starting his career on the substitutes’ bench. He later managed clubs in Mexico, Argentina and especially Colombia.
The Colombian Olympic Committee reported the death of José Ney López Belalcázar, a former athlete and weightlifting coach, and expressed its condolences to family and friends.
López Belalcázar stood out at the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he became the first Colombian to reach the second round of his discipline, finishing ninth in the 67.5 kg category after lifting 107.5 kg in the snatch, 140 kg in the clean and jerk and 375.5 kg in total. This performance left him five kilograms behind in fourth place. In addition, he won a medal at the VIII Central American and Caribbean Games held in Caracas in 1959.
Born on September 30, 1929 in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, he began his professional life in Barranquilla, where he worked as a painter, welder and brass worker before venturing into weightlifting under the influence of his friend Germán de la Torre.
Former football player Luis Alfonso Tovar Lasso died at the age of 77 in the city of Armenia after spending several days in hospital in a clinic. Tovar Lasso was a three-time champion with Deportivo Cali and a central figure in one of the club’s most successful periods.
During his career, Tovar scored 50 goals with Deportes Quindío, a team in which he established himself as one of the outstanding goalscorers. He also scored 17 goals in the Colombian League in 1974, where he defended the Cuybro team jersey as the top scorer.
The former player was part of the Deportivo Cali squads that won the national titles in 1967, 1969 and 1970, and was also the protagonist in obtaining the second title in 1968, the year that marked the first and only historic title for Unión Magdalena.. He also defended clubs such as Deportes Quindío, Deportivo Pereira, Once Caldas, Junior, Millonarios, Atlético Bucaramanga and Cúcuta Deportivo over 12 seasons in Colombian professional football.
With the death of Roberto “Pajarito” Buitrago at the age of 88 in Bogotá, Colombian cycling lost one of its historic figures in 2025.
Buitrago earned his nickname from his slender frame – one journalist said he looked like “a little bird”, leading to his support car being called La Jaula – and left an indelible mark on the sport. The rider became the first Boyacá winner of the Vuelta a Colombia in 1962, beating Martín Emilio “Cochise” Rodríguez by just 8 seconds.
Over the course of his career, Buitrago achieved a second place in the 1960 Vuelta, a third place in 1961 and several partial victories, including stage wins in 1957, two in 1960, one in 1961 and two in 1962. At international level, he held the Vuelta a Guatemala title in 1958 and represented Colombia at the Rome Olympics. 1960.
Jorge Bolaño was an outstanding midfielder who began his career as a junior in 1993 and won several titles with the Barranquilla team before moving to Parma in Italy in 1998. During a decade in Europe he played for Lecce, Sampdoria and Modena.
In 2010 he returned to Colombian football, signed with Cúcuta Deportivo and ended his sporting career in 2012.. Bolaño took part in three World Cup qualifiers with the Colombian national team, a World Cup, a Copa América and a Gold Cup.
The move to the coaching staff came after his retirement, where he took on assistant duties at Uniautónoma FC and then managed the Real Frontera Sport Club of Venezuela and the Colombia U-17 national team. As the son of former footballer Oscar Bolaño, Jorge Bolaño’s legacy extends both in Colombia and abroad.
As for Armando “Piripi” Osma, his career spanned 525 games for teams such as Deportivo Cali, Millonarios, Once Caldas and Atlético Bucaramanga. He later worked as a coach for national and international clubs, including Deportes Tolima, Aucas de Ecuador and the Ecuador U23 national team..
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