Rio 2016: Georgia makes history with largest Olympic team

The upcoming Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil will feature more Georgian athletes than any other Olympic event in independent Georgia's history.

With 38 Georgian competitors already qualified for the year's Olympic Games, Georgia’s previous record of 36 Olympic contestants has been broken.

During the country's 25 years of independence, the number of athletes who qualified for the world’s most prestigious sporting competition ranged from 33 to 36.

This year Georgia will send at least 38 athletes, and this number could still increase as athletes continue to qualify for the remaining spots.

This year more than 10,000 athletes from all parts of the world will gather in Rio de Janeiro in August to compete in the first Olympic Games held in South America.

Fencer Sandro Bazadze is one of the 28 Georgian athletes participating in this year's Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo from the International Fencing Federation/Facebook.

The team of Georgian athletes travelling to the Rio 2016 Games will include fencer Sandro Bazadze, who qualified for the August Olympics in April.

Also going to Rio will be three-time Olympic medal-winning shooter Nino Salukvadze and her son Tsotne Machavariani, who will also compete in shooting disciplines.

Another member of Georgia's Olympic team will be gymnast Salome Pazhava, who booked her place at the Brazilian contest earlier this year.

Georgia could send more than 38 athletes, with qualifying tournaments for boxers, wrestlers and archers still ongoing.

First Vice President of Georgia’s National Olympic Committee Elguja Berishvili told reporters on Sunday the Committee hoped to see "one or two" more Georgian competitors qualify for the competition before the conclusion of the qualifying rounds.

The full list of athletes travelling from Georgia to the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil will be complete in early July.

The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be run in Rio de Janeiro from August 5-21.