Warming up for cold sports.

• Author: Estrada, Louie
• Position: Mexico

Mexico's history of conquest and gold dates back over 400 years. But this coming February, Mexican athletes will carve out another piece of history as they strive for the Olympic gold in Albertville, France.

Although a highly visible team in the Summer Games, Mexico is still relatively unknown as it prepares for only its second appearance in the Winter Olympics. "We are in a developmental stage," said Jose Luis Aguilar, president of the recently created Mexican Federation of Winter Sports. "I think we need more time because it is obviously difficult to train adequately in Mexico for some of these sports, but it's possible with very hard work."

Mexico's 1992 Winter Olympic team is made up of 10 Alpine skiers, one cross-country skier, two figure skaters and 10 bobsledders. In comparison, the United States will send 170 athletes. While most of Mexico's winner team gained experience at the 1988 Calgary Games, there are some newcomers including 16-year-old Mayda Navarro, a Mexican national champion figure skater, Alpine Skier Juan Carlos Elizondo and cross country skier Roberto Alvarez-Hovel.

Building a winter sports program has been a gradual but encouraging process, Aguilar said. All the news, however, is not optimistic. It is not clear whether veteran figure skater Ricardo Olavarrieta, one of the team's top athletes, will get a chance to perform in the 9,000-seat ice rink in Albertville after suffering an ankle injury last month.

In 1988, Mexico turned a few heads when it became the first Latin American country to field a bobsled team. This time, Mexico will have a pair of two-man and four-man bobsled teams led by the Tames brothers, Eduardo, Jorge, Alejandro and Luis.

Even before the...