Okimoto Wins Bronze in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

The third time’s the charm for Poliana Okimoto…

The 33-year-old Brazilian long-distance swimmer, one of the oldest swimmers among the 50 finalists in the men’s and women’s Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2016 Rio Games, is taking home a bronze meal.

Okimoto’s road to the bronze was a very long one.

“I didn’t like the cold or the seaweed or swimming in such rough water conditions or with everyone swimming around me and being physical,” says Okimoto, who dreaded swimming in the open water. “I really didn’t like all these things in the beginning.”

But she was good at swimming longer than 800 meters, which was her speciality in the pool. She did a lot of local ocean swims in her native Brazil. Of course, 5 km races were even better and 10 km was the best.

Over the years, she won world championship races and FINA‘s 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup series. She was always competitive in international races except for a DNF that she experienced at the 2012 London Games.

She qualified for the 2008 Beijing Games, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics 10K Marathon Swims – one of the very few athletes who were consistently on top of the sport of marathon swimming. But a medal was out of reach and, at the age of 33, time was not on her side. She kept on training hard, always remembering her ultimate goal of earning an Olympic medal.

She is married to her coach, Ricardo Cintra, and they had forged a long-term strategy to win a medal in Rio. “I want to start a family and do other things, but when Rio de Janeiro won the bid to be the 2016 Olympic host, I knew that I had to continue,” she recalls.

During the 10 km swim, Okimoto was in good position to medal throughout the race. She took out the first 5 km easily and was in the middle of the lead pack, conserving energy. But when Sharon Van Rouwendaal opened up a lead with a fast surge after the 7 km mark, Okimoto knew that she had to give chase. This was her last and best chance to medal.

She fought closely with Rachele Bruni of Italy, Aurélie Muller of France, and Xin Xin of China. Only two of the four women in the trailing pack would win a medal. But fortune shined upon Okimoto on this day.

After Muller claimed silver and Bruni bronze, just ahead of Okimoto, her heart sank. Okimoto had given it everything she could. She had trained for this moment…and she lost.

But after a few confusing minutes and discussions among the referees, FINA’s head referee John West declared Muller disqualified and Okimoto the bronze medalist.

Her long road to success was finally and ultimately reached.

Ibargüen Wins Gold in the Triple Jump at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Caterine Ibargüen has extra reason to (triple) jump for joy…

The 32-year-old Colombian track & field star leapt 15.17 meters (49’9.25) to win the gold medal in the Women’s Triple Jump on Sunday night at the 2016 Rio Games, improving on her silver medal from the 2012 London Games.

Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela won the silver with a jump of 14.98 meters and Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova finished third with a leap of 14.74 meters.

Rypakova won the event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a leap of 14.98 meters, beating out Ibargüen, who leapt 14.80 meters. Ibargüen won the world title in 2015 in Beijing with a leap of 14.90 meters. She didn’t quite match her personal best of 15.31 meters, but it was good enough for gold on Sunday.

Ibargüen jumped 15.03 meters in the second round, but improved upon it with a 15.17-meter leap in the fourth round. She never looked back, as no other jumper was able to clear the 15-meter mark.

Valentín Earns Her First Olympic Medal in Weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

The third time’s the medal for Lidia Valentín…

The 31-year-old Spanish weightlifter has earned the bronze medal in the Weightlifting Women’s 75 kg competition at the 2016 Rio Games.

Despite being in the lead much of the competition, Valentín was ultimately surpassed by Belarus’ Darya Naumova and North Korea’s Jong Sim Rim, having to settle for third place.

Valentín lifted 116kg in the snatch and 141 twice, for a total of 257. Just after her last attempt, Naumova lifted 142kg to snatch the gold away from Valentín, but her joy of making it onto the medal podium.

Valentín competed at the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Games, finishing in fifth and fourth place, respectively.

However, in 2016, after the retesting of the samples from that category at the 2012 Summer Olympics, it was discovered that the three medalists all tested positive for prohibited substances; if the B samples return positive, the medals would be stripped from them, meaning that Valentín would be the gold medalist for the event.

Chourraut Takes Home the Gold in the Women’s Kayak (K1) at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Maialen Chourraut has moved up the medal stand…

Four years after earning a bronze at the 2012 London Games, the 33-year-old Spanish slalom canoeist took home gold in the Women’s Kayak (K1) Final on Day 6 of the 2016 Rio Games with a time of 98.65.

Rounding out the podium, New Zealand’s Luuka Jones won silver with a time of 101.82, and Australia’s Jessica Fox rounded out the top three with 102.49.

Chourraut’s run was the fastest of the entire kayak single slalom competition, and free of penalties.

Adding an extra layer of difficulty for the final–the wind was blowing upstream, causing the poles of the gates to move. As penalties are assigned for hitting a gate (two seconds) and missing a gate (50 seconds) and frequently the kayakers pass through by a nose, it complicated their final pass on the Deodoro Olympic Whitewater course for the women’s kayak slalom.

The course is 241 meters long, with 24 gates, including six in which the kayakers must pass through the two poles paddling upstream.

Chourraut had previously earned a bronze medal in the K1 slalom at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Belmonte Earns Her First Olympic Gold Medal at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Mireia Belmonte is officially Spain’s swimming sensation…

The 25-year-old Spanish swimmer raced her way to first place in the Women’s 200 Meter Butterfly at the 2016 Rio Games on Wednesday to become the first Spanish woman to win an Olympic swimming gold medal.

Belmonte, a two-time silver medalist at the 2012 London Games, went a step better than she did at the 2012 Summer Olympics with a winning time of two minutes, 4.85 seconds, the fastest time so far this year.

Australia’s Madeline Groves, who went into the race with the fastest time of 2016, took the silver medal and Japan’s world champion Natsumi Hoshi won bronze.

Belmonte’s gold completed the medal set for Belmonte, who won a bronze in the Women’s 400 Individual Medley on Saturday, and was also the first for Spain in any sport at the Rio Games.

A silver medalist also in the 800m freestyle four years ago, her four-medal career haul makes her Spain’s most successful swimmer, though victory was still a haze for her after the race.

“I’m still nervous. Nothing comes to mind,” she said when asked what she was thinking about. “The truth is it’s everything I dreamed of and it’s all happened so quickly.”

Her victory was the first for Spain in the Olympic pool since Martin Lopez Zubero won the men’s 200 backstroke at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

She still had to work hard for victory, with Groves leading at the first turn after Hoshi had made the fastest start from the blocks.

Groves was also ahead at the halfway stage but Belmonte came back strongly and dashed her rival’s hopes of becoming the first Australian to win the event since Susan O’Neill at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Belmonte Fights Hard to Give Spain Its First Medal at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Mireia Belmonte is back to being Spain’s medal darling…

The 25-year-old Spanish swimmer, who claimed her country’s first medal at the 2012 London Games, earned her country its first medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Belmonte took home the bronze medal in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley at the 2016 Rio Games, after finishing third behind Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu and USA’s Madeline Dirado with a time of 4:32.39.

Belmonte, a two-time silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics, qualified for the final with the second fastest time but started rather poorly in the final with her in fifth place heading towards the halfway point.

But she never gave up and found the resilience to challenge for a medal as she began a monumental stretch of front crawl, which cut the gap between her and Hannah Miley to eight tenths.

In the last 50 meters Belmonte finally got the edge and finished just ahead of the British swimmer.

After the race she told reporters of the sheer fight behind her triumph.

“I felt a little weird, I was getting tired but I fought until I couldn’t fight anymore, until my body had no more strength,” she explained.

The gap between her and Miley was at one point so significant that it looked almost impossible for Belmonte to claw her way back.

“It looked quite far between me and her but I never stopped fighting, in the last seven or eight meters I barely breathed, it was what God wanted.”

Leyva to Replace an Injured John Orozco on the USA Mens Gymnastics Team

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Danell Leyva will compete in his second Olympics after all…

The Cuban-American gymnast, a Bronze Medal winner in the 2012 London Olympics in the Men’s All Around, will replace John Orozco at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Danell Leyva

Orozco tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee during training this week and will not compete in Brazil next month.

Orozco, a star four years ago when he won the national championship and qualified for the Olympic all-around finals, injured the same knee late in 2012. Orozco has also twice torn the Achilles tendon in his right leg during his career.

National team coordinator Kevin Mazeika called Orozco’s latest injury “unfortunate and heartbreaking.”

The injury is the latest in a series of personal and professional setbacks for Orozco, who also lost his mother, Damaris, in the spring of 2015.

Leyva, who appeared in his birthday suit in ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue in 2012, was left off the five-man team going to the Rio Games by the USA Gymnastics selection committee.

He was edged out by Orozco, Chris Brooks and Alex Naddour, who had a higher combination of four scores from the U.S. championships and trials than Leyva, who competed with injuries at the national meet after being bitten on his hands and left leg while trying to break up a fight between his American bulldogs. Four-time national champion Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton made the Olympic team with no debate.

Leyva finished 10th overall at trials and 16th at nationals earlier this month. He tied with one other gymnast for the highest score on parallel bars and horizontal bar and was confident he would be chosen on the strength of those routines and his record of accomplishment.

But the five-man committee surprised many by not choosing Leyva, who has a reputation as a clutch athlete. The bigger the stage, the better he loves to perform.

“We don’t know the reason and we’re a little sad, but they are making a big mistake,” said his coach and stepfather Yin Alvarez after the decision was revealed. “Dani is obviously the only guy who can bring them a medal under pressure. Without him, how are they going to win a team or all-around medal?”

But now he’ll get his chance to show the committee and the world just what he’s capable of in the clutch.

Veiga Finishes First Among the Women at the Madrid Marathon

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Vanessa Veiga has sprinted her way into the history books…

The 33-year-old Spanish long-distance runner obtained the first women’s race victory for Spain in 15 years over the weekend at the Madrid Marathon.

Veiga, who placed 97th in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, made a great final kick to move out ahead of Ethiopia’s Desta Girma Tadesse, who won the Madrid race in 2010 and 2011, just 50 meters (54 yards) from the finish line. In the end, Veiga triumphed with a time of 2:36:38.

Upon crossing the finish line, Veiga jumped for joy and received kisses from her three children.

Kenya’s Francis Kiprop, 30, set a new Madrid Marathon record of 2:10:37, when he crossed the finish line first to win the race. Meanwhile, Salamanca native Rafael Iglesias achieved his objective of being the first Spaniard to cross the finish line, coming in eighth with a time of 2:16:11 after having to sit out the race for the past two years with osteopathy of the pelvis.

The race began at 9 a.m. with a minute of silence to pay tribute to the victims of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings and a nod to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which on Sept. 27 in Buenos Aires will choose from among Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul the city that will host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Some 26,000 runners – all wearing black armbands in memory of the Boston bombing victims – began this year’s race at Colon Square with the temperature standing at 39-degrees Fahrenheit.

Schmid’s Last Leg Sprint Lands Her a Swimming Gold…

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Melanie Costa Schmid has the gold medal to prove it’s never too late to crash the party…

The 23-year-old Spanish singer won the gold medal in the women’s 400 freestyle Friday at the short-course world championships after accelerating in the final leg to win the race in 4:01.08.

Schmid – who failed to qualify for the final in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics after finishing 9th in the heats – found herself behind the pack after the first 350 meters, which were dominated by Lauren Boyle of New Zealand.

But in the last 25m, a successful final acceleration gave her the gold. Chloe Sutton of the United States won the silver in 4:01.20, and Boyle of New Zealand, who had dominated the first 350 meters, ended up coming in third in 4:01.24.

It’s the first gold medal on the world stage of Schmid’s career, after winning two silver and two bronze medals at the 2011 European Championships.

Scolari Returning as Coach of Brazil’s National Soccer Team…

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Luiz Felipe Scolari is officially back at the helm in Brazil…

The Brazilian Soccer Confederation has announced that the 64-year-old World Cup-winning Brazilian football manager, known as Felipão in Brazil, will return as coach of the national team as it prepares for the 2014 World Cup tournament in the South American nation.

Scolari was leading the team in 2002 when Brazil won the most recent of its record five World Cups.

CBF President Jose Maria Marin presented Scolari to the media during a press conference on Thursday where Carlos Alberto Parreira – who coached Brazil to victory in the 1994 World Cup – was named as national team coordinator.

“After a deep analysis, thinking of what would be best for Brazilian soccer,” said Marin, “we decided to turn over the destiny of the team with toward the country’s soccer objective, the World Cup, to competent hands, with recognized capability, experience already proven with titles won.”

In response, Scolari vowed to make his team the tournament favorites.
“We have the obligation to win the title,” said Scolari. “We’re not the favorites now, but we intend to be by the time the World Cup arrives and we will work for that.”

The first practices under the new coaching staff are set for January, to prepare for a friendly match in London against England.

Mano Menezes was fired last Friday as coach of the national team after 27 months in the post.

Though the team won 21 of its 33 matches under Menezes, none of the victories was against a top-flight opponent. His tenure also included a loss to Mexico in the finals of the 2012 Summer Olympics and a quarterfinal exit in last year’s Copa America competition.

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