Yesterday was a very eventful day at the Olympics for several athletes from Latin America and the Caribbean who were able to gain medals. Before we get to them, however, we’re going to take a look at a wild finish in men’s basketball.
Both Russia and Brazil entered their preliminary round duel with undefeated records after two games. Late in the contest Brazil held a slim 70-65 lead but Russia mounted a quick comeback to tie the game at 72 with forty seconds left. Brazilian captain Marcelinho Huertas then knocked in a layup with 6.1 seconds to go, which set the stage for last-second heroics by Vitaliy Fridzon:
(Click here for an alternate link from Telemundo in case the above video does not work).
The 75-74 loss does not eliminate Brazil since they have two more games in group play: on Saturday against China and Monday versus Spain.
The London Games are near the halfway point but it appears that it will be one of the most successful Olympics in terms of medals for Latin American and Caribbean competitors. On Thursday, for example, three female athletes from the region reached the podium:
Showing posts with label archery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label archery. Show all posts
Friday, August 3, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
London Calling: Ouro
The first gold medal won by a Latin American athlete at this year’s Olympics came from a tenacious Brazilian martial artist.
Sarah Menezes won the under-48kg women’s judo gold on Saturday after beating defending champion Alina Dumitru of Romania in the final.
Menezes, who upset world number one Tomoko Fukumi to reach the gold medal bout, fought a tough and defensive bout against Dumitru. The patience from the twenty-two-year-old paid off when she threw the Romanian twice in the final minute.
“I feel like I’m floating!” said Menezes to the Brazilian press after capturing the gold. Her victory was the pinnacle of a judo career that she admitted started “as a joke” thirteen years ago.
Menezes wasn’t the only Brazilian to obtain a medal on Saturday. Felipe Kitadei, who superstitiously touched the judo ring before each one of his bouts, won bronze in the under-60kg men’s category. Swimmer Thiago Pereira finished behind Ryan Lochte of the U.S. and won silver in the men’s 400-meter individual medley.
In other Olympics results from Saturday:
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