Brian Pintado & Glenda Morejon Claim Silver in Mixed Marathon Race Walk at 2024 Paris Games

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a silver lining for Brian Pintado and Glenda Morejon at the 2024 Paris Games.

The 29-year-old Ecuadorian race walker, who claimed a gold in the men’s 20 KM walk at the 2024 Summer Olympics, teamed up with his 24-year-old compatriot to win the silver in the mixed marathon race walk with a time of 2:51.22.

Pintado and Morejon gave Ecuador their second medal of the Olympic Games.

The event made its Olympic debut on Wednesday, with Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez of Spain winning the gold with a time of 2:50:31.

Australia’s Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag claimed bronze (2:51:38).

Alvaro Martin & Maria Perez Claim Gold in Olympic Debut of Mixed Marathon Race Walk at 2024 Paris Games

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez have stepped up their Olympic game…

Following their individual medal-earning performances that fell just short of gold at the 2024 Paris Games, the 30-year-old Spanish race walker and the 28-year-old Spanish race walker have teamed up to win the mixed marathon race walk.

Spain’s two-time world champions Martin and Perez took the first ever gold medal in the relay event by nearly a minute at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Wednesday as the event made its Olympic debut.

The Spaniards, who each collected individual gold in both the 20km and 35km races at last year’s worlds in Budapest, finished in two hours, 50 minutes and 31 seconds, with Perez pulling away over the final lap.

She made a case in the post-race press conference for keeping walking in the Olympics amid concern the discipline is losing popularity and could be phased out.

“We have already shown that race walking has to be in all the Olympic Games. We have shown that we can make people (celebrate) with us and suffer with us, and also to the public who are watching us from home,” she said. “I think race walking is really making its place in the Olympic program, it deserves the recognition.”

The victory gives Spain three Olympic medals in Paris, with Perez winning silver in the women’s 20km a week earlier and Alvaro taking bronze in the men’s race.

“I started the year with a very long injury (a stress fracture), I almost had to undergo surgery and it’s almost a miracle that I’m here,” Perez said. “What I have learned from that few months is that little details are very important, and I also don’t take anything for granted.”

Brian Pintado and Glenda Morejon of Ecuador took silver in 2:51.22, while Australia’s Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag claimed bronze (2:51:38).

Spain and Ecuador led virtually from the off, initially as part of a group of eight that had become two by the final leg.

Just three seconds separated the two teams when Martin and Perez smacked hands for the exchange.

Perez found another gear over the final leg, and then a kilometer from the finish line, she ditched her sunglasses, smiled and high-fived flag-waving Spanish fans who created a thunderous celebration by banging on cardboard course dividers.

Mijaín López Earns Historic Fifth Career Wrestling Gold at 2024 Paris Games

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Mijaín López’s gold rush continues at the 2024 Paris Games…

The 41-year-old Cuban wrestler used to be part of a very exclusive club of athletes with four individual gold medals in the same event at an Olympic Games. Only seven athletes have achieved the feat, including swimming legend Michael Phelps, former track hero Carl Lewis and now Katie Ledecky.

But, on Tuesday at the 2024 Summer Olympics, López launched into a new group of his own.

He achieved a record-breaking fifth straight individual title — a five-peat — as he won gold in the men’s Greco-Roman wrestling 130-kilogram category.

Two other athletes — U.S. basketball stars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi — have achieved the feat in team events. On an individual basis, though, López’s achievement is unparalleled.

“What’s great is the joy,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “It was a result that I was craving, but also for the whole world and my country. So happy to reach the Olympic elite. The reward of a lifetime of working hard with the help of everyone and my family. It is my biggest win.”

Another remarkable part of López’s gold medal win on Tuesday: He hasn’t competed internationally since the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Whereas other wrestlers compete year-round, López decided he was too old to put his body through the rigors of repeated competition, instead preferring to ready himself at lengthy training camps.

His advantage comes from his size. López’s frame is just that much bigger than any of his opponents. Out of competition, he typically weighs around 150kg (330 pounds), meaning he is able to put a lot more back on after he makes weight. That advantage and his skill have resulted in an Olympic dominance unlike any other.

López made his Olympic debut aged 21 at the 2004 Athens Games, where he exited in the quarterfinals. His golden run started at the 2008 Beijing Games.

In Tokyo, López became the first male wrestler to win four gold medals, blowing through the field without letting up a point in four matches.

The Cuban wrestler similarly dominated in Paris, as if his 41-year-old body were defying time itself. He made light work of his first-round match, achieving a 7-0 victory over South Korea’s Lee Seungchan. Hours after that, he booked his place in the final with a 3-1 win over Iran’s Amin Mirzazadeh in the quarterfinals and a 4-1 victory over Sabah Shariati of Azerbaijan in the semifinals.

Tuesday’s final was a mismatch, too. López steamrolled his opponent, Chile’s Yasmani Acosta Fernandez, in a 6-0 victory.

Shortly after winning this gold medal, López embraced Fernandez, a Cuban who moved to Chile to give himself a better chance of competing in the big events. Fernandez is the first wrestling medalist for Chile.

As López continued to celebrate, he dropped to all fours and began to unlace his shoes on the mat. López had said he would retire Monday, adding that there needed to be room for new faces in the sport.

“I have a lot of inspiration for all the young people that come to me for guidance,” he said. “I have a lot of inspiration to give to the world. I would like to educate the younger generations.”

After he removed his shoes, he held both arms in the air and acknowledged the fans again.

“To get to this point, the first thing you need is to love your sport, love what you do and show to the world that you are capable of winning with so little,” López said.

Rebeca Andrade Claims Second Consecutive Silver in Women’s Gymnastics Individual All-Around at 2024 Paris Games

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a case of silver déjà vu for Rebeca Andrade.

The 25-year-old Brazilian artistic gymnast, the most decorated Brazilian and Latin American gymnast of all time, has claimed the silver medal in the women’s gymnastics individual all-around competition at the 2024 Paris Games.

Andrade had previously won the silver medal in the same category at the 2020 Tokyo Games, becoming the first Brazilian female gymnast to medal at an Olympic Games.

Andrade, who led the Brazilian team to its first team Olympic medal ever at earlier in the week, finished the competition with a 57.932 after the four rotations, 1.199 points behind Team USA’s Simone Biles. Suni Lee claimed the bronze with a 56.465.

Andrade surged past Biles midway through the all-around finals at raucous Bercy Arena and had the opportunity to produce the biggest upset of the Games so far after Biles botched a transition on uneven bars.

But Biles fought back. She turned in a great beam routine and was amazing on the floor exercise to turn things around as she claimed a second gold in the competition, eight years after her triumph in Rio de Janeiro.

“Simone is the best, and she brings out the best of me,” Andrade said.

In the end, Andrade scored a 15.100 on the vault, a 14.666 on the uneven bars, a 14.133 on the balance beam and a 14.033 in the floor exercise.

Despite the silver finish, Andrade was all smiles.

“I’ve worked so hard to achieve this,” Andrade said. “It’s just unbelievable. I had so much fun, every single moment has been sensational.”

Francisco Garrigós Defeats Giorgi Sardalashvili in Judo for Spain’s First Paris 2024 Olympics Medal

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Francisco Garrigós has given Spain its first medal of the 2024 Paris Games.

The 29-year-old Spanish judoka, defeated Georgia’s reigning world champion Giorgi Sardalashvili to claim a bronze medal in the first men’s judo competition of the 2024 Summer Olympics, the men’s 60 kg.

Garrigos has been on form in this past Olympiad, claiming European and World titles, putting him among the best in the 60kg weight category, and on Saturday he continued his bid to collect more major medals.

Falling only to the eventual Olympic champion, Yeldos Smetoc of Kazakhstan, Garrigos steadily made his way through his portion of the draw, defeating Ryuju Nagayama of Japan for the first time after suffering losses to him five previous times. It was his ne waza skills that helped him greatly toward success on the first day of the judo events in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Garrigos’ final opponent standing in the way of an Olympic medal was Sardalashvili, the youngest in Georgian judo. Though both can boast World titles, the Spanish athlete has experience on his side and after an exhausting head to head, Garrigos earned the score with a tomoe nage.

“I was nervous, it’s the Olympic Games and everyone is watching you, including my family, and expecting you to do well. But I have dedicated myself to enjoying it, forgetting about the result and the medal possibility, but also knowing that my performance depends entirely on me,” Garrigos said after his performance.

Kevin Paredes Named to U.S. Men’s National Team for 2024 Paris Games

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Kevin Paredes is headed to Paris to compete at his first-ever Olympic Games.

The 21-year-old Dominican American professional soccer player, who plays left wing-back or left winger for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the United States national team, appears on the 18-player roster for the United States men’s Olympic team (USMNT), as revealed by manager Marko Mitrović.

Paredes, the 2023 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year, is among the five forwards named to the USMNT for the 2024 Paris Games.

In August 2023, Paredes received his first call-up to the United States senior national team by head coach Gregg Berhalter, for two friendly matches against Uzbekistan and Oman. In all, he’s made three appearances.

The men’s Olympic soccer tournament is restricted to players under the age of 23, but it does allow for three “overage” players. Colorado Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson and Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman will fill each of those spots. The remainder of the roster comprises players born on or after Jan. 1, 2001.

This summer’s tournament in Paris marks the first time that the U.S. men have qualified for the Olympics since 2008.

The roster is also bolstered by midfielders Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann, both of whom helped lead Venezia in its successful bid to gain promotion to Italy’s Serie A last season.

“Today is a special day for us. We announced our roster and we are excited to go to the Olympic Games,” Mitrović said. “We are going there after 16 years [of not qualifying] on the men’s side, but also we are very excited that we are going to be together with our women’s team after almost two decades.”

Because the Olympics don’t qualify as an official FIFA competition, club teams aren’t required to release players for the tournament.

“We all know that it was actually a really difficult process in the last eight to 10 months, first talking to the clubs and trying to get all the players released,” said Mitrović. “Yes, there was challenges, but however we’d end up [it was] with the roster that we really believe that can represent us in the best possible way. And I feel very, very good about team that is going to the Paris.”

That explains, in part, why the vast majority of players from the USMNT who just competed in the Copa América aren’t on the roster. Robinson is the lone exception.

Those limitations presented a challenge for Mitrović in terms of constructing the roster. But of those players that were named, 15 of the 18 have made appearances for the full U.S. men’s national team, with Zimmerman, a veteran of the 2022 World Cup squad, leading the way with 42 appearances.

Ten of the players are currently contracted with Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs, with the remainder playing in Europe.

The last U.S. team to participate, in 2008, was led by former USMNT stalwarts Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore. They narrowly missed out on qualifying for the medal round.

This time around, the U.S. men qualified by virtue of winning the 2022 Concacaf Under-20 Championship. From that team, only the Philadelphia Union‘s Jack McGlynn and FC Utrecht‘s Paxten Aaronson made the final Olympic squad.

All of the U.S.’s group stage games in the 16-team tournament will be played in Marseille, with the opener taking place on July 24 — two days before the opening ceremony — against the host country France.

That will be followed by matches against New Zealand on July 27, followed by the group stage finale against Guinea three days later.

If the U.S. qualifies for the medal round, it will play the quarterfinals in either Paris or Bordeaux.

The semifinals will be held in Marseille and Décines-Charpieu — just outside of Lyon. The final will be held in Paris on Aug. 9 with the bronze medal match being held in Nantes a day earlier.

The U.S. will prepare for the Games in Bordeaux at the home of Ligue 2 side Bordeaux from July 9-20 before moving to Marseille ahead of its opening match.

U.S. OLYMPIC MEN’S SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN)

Goalkeepers (2): Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; St. Charles, Missouri), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; Addison, Ill.)

Defenders (6): Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Furth/GER; Frankfurt, Germany), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; Oldsmar, Florida), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; Arlington, Massachusetts), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; Chatham, New Jersey), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC; Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; Lawrenceville, Georgia)

Midfielders (5): Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; Greensboro, North Carolina), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF; Key Biscayne, Florida), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; New York), Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids; Jacksonville, Florida), Tanner Tessmann (Venezia/ITA; Birmingham, Alabama)

Forwards (5): Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht/NED; Medford, New Jersey), Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht/NED; Eden, Utah), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City SC; Omaha, Nebraska), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; South Riding, Virginia), Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo/BEL; Clifton, Virginia)

Alternates (4): Josh Atencio (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC; Bellevue, Washington), Jacob Davis (Defender, Sporting Kansas City; Rochester, Michigan), Johan Gomez (Forward, Eintracht Braunschweig/GER; Keller, Texas), John Pulskamp (Goalkeeper, Sporting Kansas City; Bakersfield, California)

Rafael Nadal to Play Singles & Doubles at 2024 Paris Games

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal is set to play at the 2024 Paris Games.

The 38-year-old Spanish professional tennis player has been named to the Spanish tennis team for the Paris Olympics, where he’ll also partner with French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in doubles, the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has announced.

Nadal, who has been limited the past two years by a number of injuries, has said the Olympic Games were his focus and that he could skip Wimbledon to prepare.

“My main goal now is to play Olympics,” Nadal said after losing in the first round at Roland Garros on May 27. “That’s going to be here. So I need to prepare myself the proper way to try to arrive here healthy and well prepared, and then let’s see.”

Nadal and Alcaraz will play in both singles and doubles at the Games.

The tennis competition will be held at Roland Garros, where Nadal is a 14-time Grand Slam champion and Alcaraz just won the French Open on Sunday.

“One pair, which I think everyone knows and was hoping for, is Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal and the second pair is yet to be decided. It hasn’t been 100% confirmed yet,” national team coach David Ferrer told reporters.

Alcaraz, who will be making his Olympic debut, has set winning an Olympic medal for Spain as one of his top career goals. He said after winning at Roland Garros that this year he would prefer a gold medal at the Paris Olympics over successfully defending his Wimbledon title.

“The Olympic Games are every four years and it’s a special tournament where you’re not only playing for yourself, but for a country, representing every Spaniard,” the No. 2-ranked Alcaraz said. “I think this year I’d choose Olympic gold.”

Nadal has a singles gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Games and a 2016 gold in doubles, when he played with Marc Lopez.

Spain also selected Pablo Carreno Busta, Alejandro Davidovich and Marcel Granollers (doubles) for the men’s competition. Captain Anabel Medina picked No. 55 Sara Sorribes Tormo and No. 67 Cristina Bucsa — the top-ranked Spanish players — for the women’s team, with Paula Badosa deciding not to compete as she has only two more events to play while using her protected ranking.

Dara Torres Named to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the (Hall of) Fame game forDara Torres…

The 52-year-old Cuban American former competitive swimmer has been named to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame‘s class of 2019.

Torres is a 12-time medalist and former world record-holder in three events. She is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), and at age 41, was the oldest swimmer to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team.

At the 2008 Beijing Games, she competed in the 50-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter medley relay, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and won silver medals in all three events.

Torres has won 12 Olympicmedals (four gold, four silver, four bronze), one of three women with the most Olympic women’s swimming medals. She also won at least one medal in each of the five Summer Games in which she has competed, making her one of only a handful of Olympians to earn medals in five different Games.

The rest of the class: Champion gymnast Nastia Liukin, once-shunned track stars Tommie Smithand John Carlos, Candace Cable, Erin Popovich, Chris Waddell(Paralympics), Lisa Leslie(basketball), Misty May-Treanor(beach volleyball), Apolo Anton Ohno(short track speedskating), the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, Ron O’Brien(diving coach) and Tim Nugent(special contributor).

The USOPC will hold an induction ceremony on November 1 in Colorado Springs, Colorado — the first since 2012.

After the Hall of Fame essentially stalled out, the USOPC’s Sarah Hirshlandpushed to revive it as part of a federation effort to focus more on athletes.

“We thank them for their impact on sport and society, and for continuing to inspire the next generation of athletes and fans,” Hirshland said.

Veronica Falcon to Star in HBO’s Limited Series “Perry Mason”

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Veronica Falconwill be flying high…

The 52-year-old Mexican actress has landed a recurring role opposite Matthew Rhys in Perry Mason, HBO’s limited series from Team Downey.

Written and executive produced by Rolin Jonesand Ron Fitzgerald, who also will showrun, and based on the characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, the reimagined Perry Mason is set in 1931 Los Angeles.

While the rest of the country suffers through the Great Depression, this city is booming! Oil! Olympic Games! Talking Pictures! Evangelical Fervor! And a child kidnapping gone very, very wrong!

Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, the limited series follows the origins of American Fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, Perry Mason (Rhys). When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself.

Falcon is Lupe. A pilot and hard-drinking owner of a speakeasy, Lupe is a she-demon of the California skies and the 3rd place air speed champion of the world.

Rhys also is a producer on the series. Robert and Susan Downey, who developed the project, executive produce along with Team Downey’s Amanda Burrell, and Joe Horacek. Tim Van Pattendirects and executive produces.

Falcon starred for three seasons on USA’s hit series Queen of the South. She can currently be seen in Perpetual Grace LTD. alongside Sir Ben Kingsley and Jackie Weaverfor Epix. She can also be seen leading an episode of the HBO anthology series Room 104 and in Disney’s upcoming feature Jungle Cruise.

Hernandez Helps Lead the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team to Gold at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Laurie Hernandez isn’t old enough to vote, but she’s already a golden girl…

The 16-year-old Puerto Rican gymnast helped lead her team to gold in the women’s gymnastics competition at the 2016 Rio Games.

Hernandez and her teammates, the self-proclaimed “Final Five,” proved that the Americans really were just as dominant as they looked during team qualifications, easily winning gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

It’s the first time that the U.S. women have won back-to-back gold medals at an Olympic Games.

Russia took home the silver, while China wrangled the bronze away from Japan.

And after Simone Biles’ score went up as the final competitor on floor exercise, the team also announced its much-anticipated team name: the “Final Five.”

The U.S. women opened up on vault with Hernandez, an upstart, putting up a 15.100. Hernandez found herself in the vault lineup after outscoring teammate Gabby Douglas during qualifying. Aly Raisman continued her run of impressive Amanars and nailed the landing once again for a huge 15.833. Biles did what she has been doing for the last three years and scored a 15.933 with a stellar Amanar of her own.

The Americans moved onto the uneven bars where Douglas and Madison Kocian each got their moment to shine. It was the only event that both gymnasts would appear on in the team final competition. They did not disappoint. Douglas put up a 15.766, while Kocian hit the 15.9 mark for the second time at this Olympics with a 15.933.

On the balance beam, Raisman corrected the error she had on her side aerial in the qualifying meet to come away with a 15.000. The scores kept on building from there. Hernandez went up and was rock solid looking more like a veteran, than the young first-time Olympian that she is. Her 15.233 was just shy of the score that landed her in the balance beam event final. Biles had a minor bobble on her acrobatic series early on, but still put up the top score on beam for the United States.

“Man, we were ready,” Hernandez said. “So, so ready.”

The American women beat Russia by 8.209 points, the largest margin of victory since the 1960 Rome Games, where six athletes’ scores were included in each apparatus total. In Rio, only three individual scores were tallied in each event.

A three-time world champion, Biles is the overwhelming favorite to win all-around gold Thursday, but the mantle of breakout American star at these Olympics belongs to Hernandez.

About 36 hours before the start of the team competition, Martha Karolyi, the U.S. national team coordinator, told Hernandez she would be participating in three events—the vault, the balance beam and the floor exercise. Upon hearing the news, Hernandez, the first Latina gymnast on the U.S. team since Annia Hatch a dozen years ago, felt like screaming in joy. She was selected over Douglas, the reigning all-around Olympic gold medal winner, and Kocian, a specialist on the uneven bars.

“I’ve worked so hard for this moment, and I wanted to be out there for my country,” she said. “There was no doubt about my abilities at all in my mind.”

In the preliminary round of the team competition, Hernandez became a trending topic on Twitter after her floor exercise as she danced and tumbled her way into the imagination of fans across the globe. Nicknamed “Baby Shakira” and “The Human Emoji” for her vivid facial expressions, she engaged the crowd with a stage performer’s ease—a prodigy born to be in the bright lights.

In her final floor routine, she again dazzled spectators with her rhythmic moves, first learned in ballet lessons at the age of three. In between opening with a double layout and closing with a tucked double back, she danced like no one was looking, which caused everyone who was looking to roar.

Unable to contain her joy after sticking her final flip—a refreshing trait in women’s gymnastics—she blew kisses to the fans.

“I wish I could dance like Laurie,” Douglas said. “She can feel it during her floor routine like no one else I’ve ever seen. That’s why the crowd loves her so much, because it’s just natural for her.”

Much as the crowd loves her, they won’t see her in the individual floor final. Even though she finished with the third-best score Tuesday, each country can send only two athletes per event, and Biles and Raisman beat her out. She’ll next compete Monday in the balance beam final.

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