In these Olympics In the recent games that have just finished, there were Latin Americans who made history and/or who stood out in their discipline, so we share with you a list of the 10 figures who amazed us in Paris 2024.
1. Mijain Lopez (Cuba. Fight)The Cuban wrestler, in the 130-kilo category, was proclaimed Olympic champion for the fifth consecutive time, something that no one has achieved until now and which allowed him to surpass the Americans Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky (swimming), Carl Lewis (long jump) and Alfred Oerter (discus throwing), the Dane Paul Elvstrom (sailing) and the Japanese Kaori Icho (wrestling).
The 1.98-meter-tall Colossus of Herradura could not have had a better farewell as a professional athlete, demonstrating overwhelming superiority in the final by beating the Cuban-born Chilean Yasmani Acosta, a friend of his and training partner in the past, 6-0.
2. Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic. Athletics). The sprinter from Nice won the gold medal in the 400 metres, after winning the final with great authority and stopping the clock at 48.15, a new Olympic record.
Paulino, trained by Cuban Yaseen Pérez, became the fourth fastest woman in history in this discipline and broke the Olympic record, which had been held since July 29, 1996, in Atlanta, by Frenchwoman Marie-Jose Perec.
3. Rebeca Andrade (Brazil. Gymnastics). The 25-year-old from Guarulhos took home four medals at the Stade de Bercy, but her gold medal on the floor was particularly noteworthy, finishing ahead of American Simone Biles, who twice stepped off the mat during her routine.
4. Argentine field hockey team. The ‘Lionesses’ took bronze in Paris by defeating Belgium in the match for third place, which had to be resolved with suspense in the shoot-out penalty shoot-out, with two saves by Cristina Cosentino, after the final draw.
The medal is Argentina’s fifth in hockey since Sydney 2000 and its third bronze, along with those from Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. ‘Las Leonas’ also have three silver medals, the last in Tokyo 2020 and the previous ones in London 2012 and Sydney 2000.
5. Adriana Ruano (Guatemala. Shooting)The Guatemalan won Olympic gold in the trap at the Chateuraux shooting range, a historic triumph for her country, which had never stood on the top step of the podium at the main universal sporting event.
Her victory came with an Olympic record of 45 hits, five more than the next classified, the Italian Silvana Maria Stanco, but it was not the only one for Guatemala, since Jean Pierre Brol took the silver in the men’s trap.
With love from heaven🥲!
📷 As she climbed onto the podium, Adriana Ruano 🇬🇹 carried a photograph of her father, who passed away in 2021 and was unable to see her compete in the #Tokyo2020 Olympic Games
🥇 Today she won the first gold in the history of Guatemala. #OlimpicosTelemundo… pic.twitter.com/25lW8ELz9n
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 31, 2024
6. Angel Barajas (Colombia. Gymnastics). At just 17 years old, the athlete from Cúcuta, junior world runner-up in 2023, achieved a historic feat, as he won the silver medal on the high bar, becoming the first Colombian to climb onto an Olympic podium in gymnastics, competing with the Asian giants, traditionally dominant in the discipline.
7. José ‘Maligno’ Torres (Argentina. BMX Cycling). The 29-year-old Santa Cruz de la Sierra cyclist shined at La Concorde with the highest score of any rider (male or female) in all of BMX freestyle cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
‘El Maligno’ beat all the big names in the specialty worldwide and continued the good sporting moment he is experiencing after the gold he also won a year earlier at the Pan American Games in Santiago.
8. Daniel Pintado (Ecuador. Athletics). 28 years after the legendary Jefferson Pérez was crowned champion in Atlanta’96 and sixteen after he won silver in Beijing 2008, Pintado brought Olympic glory in race walking back to Ecuador with his victory in the 20 km and a silver in the mixed marathon relay with Glenda Morejón.
9. Osmar Olvera (Mexico. Jumps). The diver from Mexico City completed a historic participation at the age of twenty, achieving two medals in Parisa silver in synchronized trampoline with Juan Celaya and a bronze in individual events. No Mexican had won two medals in the same Olympic Games since Joaquín Capilla in Melbourne 1956
10. Marta Vieira (Soccer. Brazil). Considered the best player in historythe 38-year-old striker from Dois Riachos, He stayed for the third time in his careerand also against the United States in the final, one step away from gold in his sixth Olympic participation.
*With information from EFE.
Continue reading:
· United States takes the gold medal in women’s soccer against Marta’s Brazil
· Osmar Olvera wins bronze medal for Mexico
· Mexico surpassed its medal haul from Tokyo 2020 in Paris 2024