Medellín, Colombia – During the second week of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Latin American athletes continued to shine. Brazil currently leads the regional medal table with one gold medal, two silver medals and five bronze medals, followed by Guatemala and Argentina.
Latin America Reports will be summarizing the main triumphs for the region in the Paris 2024 Olympics every week. The information has been compiled directly from the Olympics’ official website.
Argentina
José Torres Gil won the country’s first medal on July 31 by scoring first in the Men’s BMX Freestyle discipline, just above Great Britain’s silver and France’s bronze.
Additionally, the country won in the Women’s Hockey Pool B, scoring 2-1 against Spain, and in the Women’s Hockey quarterfinal against Germany.
Brazil
Beatriz Souza earned Brazil’s first gold medal in the Women’s Judo +78 kg category. Historically, this is the sport in which the country has won the most medals in the Olympics. In Paris 2024, Brazil also secured the bronze medal in Mixed Team Judo, as well as silver in the Men’s -66 kg category.
Caio Bonfim also won the silver medal in the Men’s 20km Race Walk. It was Bonfim’s fourth Olympics, and the country’s first medal in this discipline.
The country also won in surfing, with Gabriel Medina’s bronze and Tatiana Weston-Webb’s silver. Weston-Webb has now become the first Brazilian woman to win an Olympic medal in this sport.
Brazil’s Artistic Gymnastics team has continued to shine. The team won a bronze medal in the team final, making it the first time that the country has won a team medal in this discipline.
However, the country’s star during these Olympics has become Rebeca Andrade, who won silver in the individual all-around, coming in second just behind Simone Biles. In fact, Biles stated “I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes and it brought out the best athlete in myself.”
Andrade has become the most decorated Brazilian at the Olympics, while also securing a gold medal in Women’s Floor.
Chile
Team Chile’s Francisca Crovetto Chadid won the country’s first medal in Paris 2024 by earning gold in the Women’s Shooting Skeet final. Crovetto Chadid beat Great Britain’s Amber Jo Rutter and Team USA’s Austen Jewell Smith.
Additionally, Yasmani Acosta qualified to the finals in Men’s Greco-Roman 130kg Wrestling discipline against Cuba’s Mikain López Nuñez, which will take place on August 6.
Colombia
Colombia’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics was won by 17-year-old gymnast Ángel Barajas, who made history in becoming the first Colombian to ever qualify for a Men’s Artistic Gymnastics final. Barajas scored the same as Japanese Shinnosuke Oka, who won the gold, although point distribution placed Oka first because of execution.
Read more: Ángel Barajas, first Colombian to become a finalist in the Olympics’ Horizontal Bars: Profile
The Colombian Women’s Football team qualified to the quarter-finals against Spain, the current world champions, after placing first in Group A. However, after a contentious match in which Spain scored a tie-making goal in extra time, Colombia lost on penalties on August 3.
Boxer Yeni Marcela Castañeda also came close to passing to the semi-finals, although she was beaten by South Korea’s Aeji Im with a score of 3-2 in the Women’s 54kg quarterfinals.
Ecuador
Athlete Brian Daniel Pintado scored gold in the Men’s 20km Race Walk, beating Brazilian silver-medalist Caio Bonfim and Spain’s bronze. This marked Ecuador’s first medal in Paris 2024.
Guatemala
Guatemala’s Adriana Ruano Oliva won the country’s first Olympic gold medal ever in the Women’s Trap Shooting final on July 31. With a score of 45, she beat Italy’s Silvana María Stanco by five points, and Australia’s Penny Smith by 13 points.
Mexico
Juan Celaya and Osmar Olvera secured the country’s second silver medal in the Men’s Springboard 3m Diving discipline on August 2, just two points under China’s gold.
Additionally, the country also shined in boxing when Marco Verde secured a spot to the -71kg Boxing semi finals after beating India’s Nishant Dev on August 3. The Mexican will compete for the gold on August 6 against Great Britain’s Lewis Richardson.
Mexico also celebrated the return of their Women’s Artistic Swimming team after almost 30 years. The team scored eighth in the Team Technical Routine with 242.9491 points and will be competing on August 6 at the Team Free Routine discipline.
Other Countries
Cuba qualified to the Men’s Greco-Roman 130kg finals with Mijain López Nuñez, set to take place on August 6 against Chile’s Yasmani Acosta. Additionally, boxer Erislandy Álvarez Borges went on to compete in the semi-final of the Men’s 63.5kg Boxing category, although he narrowly lost against Georgian Lasha Guruli.
Peru’s Alonso Correa lost the Men’s Surfing semi-finals with a score of 9.60 against France’s Kauli Vaast on August 5, earning an Olympic diploma. Similarly, Evelyn Inga placed eighth in the Women’s 20km Walk, and María Belén Bazo placed fourth in the Women’s Windsurfing.
