Telemundo & NBC Universo Experts Name Top Hispanic Athletes to Watch During 2016 Rio Olympics
By: Tyler Peterson Jun. 21, 2016
THE EXPERTS at Telemundo and NBC DEPORTES have unveiled their list of 16 Latin American and US Hispanic athletes to watch at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Some, like Mexico's Paola Espinosa and Mariana Pajón of Colombia, are past medal winners, while others are seeking Olympic GLORY for the first time, including the Brazilian soccer team, which won a silver medal at the London 2012 games and is eager to win the gold at home. The stories and performances of these and other athletes will be at the heart of the Olympic coverage on Telemundo and NBC DEPORTES, which begins on August 3 with the start of the soccer competition two days before the opening ceremony.
The following are Telemundo and NBC DEPORTES's 16 athletes to watch:
Paola Espinosa
Sport: Diving
Country: Mexico
This renowned Mexican athlete has competed in the last three Olympics. Her career incudes a total of 32 medals, including Olympic silver and bronze, and she is eager to win her first gold in Rio. Espinosa hails from Mexico City but began swimming competitively in Baja California.
María del Rosario Espinoza
Sport: Taekwondo
Country: Mexico
The Sinaloa native is already an Olympic hero after bringing home the gold from Beijing 2008. She began her martial arts training at the age of 5, and at 10 she was already taking on male opponents.
Hirving "Chucky" Lozano
Sport: Soccer
Country: Mexico
Born in 1995, Lozano is one of the young stars of Club Pachuca in the Liga MX. He has also played with his country's national teams in the CONCACAF U-23 and U-20 tournaments, tying for top scorer in the latter with five goals to his credit. He is currently representing Mexico in the Copa América Centenario.
Danell Leyva
Sport: Gymnastics
Country: United States
From a family of gymnasts in Matanzas, Cuba, Leyva is determined to improve on the bronze he won in the all-around individual competition in London 2012. He won Team USA the gold on the parallel bars at the Tokyo 2011 world championships.
Carlos Balderas
Sport: Boxing
Country: United States
Born in Santa Maria, California to Mexican parents, at just 19 years of age Balderas was chosen as the first member of the US boxing team in November 2015. He was exempted from the Olympic trials after racking up a series of victories that year.
Teófimo López
Sport: Boxing
Country: United States
The Brooklyn, New York native represented the United States until 2015, when the International Boxing Association notified him that because of a technicality he could no longer compete for the US. As a result, López now represents Honduras, the country where is parents were born. In 2015 he won the gold at the National Golden Gloves Championship.
Fabiana Claudino
Sport: Volleyball
Country: Brazil
In a little more than a decade, Fabiana, the captain of her team, has won numerous titles at the world level, in addition to being part of the Brazilian squad that won the gold in Beijing and London. The team is a favorite to place first this time around as well. If it does, Brazil will join Cuba as the only country ever to win the gold in this sport in three consecutive Olympics.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior
Sport: Soccer
Country: Brazil
A forward with Fútbol Club Barcelona, Neymar is the only Brazilian outside the world of politics to grace the cover of TIME magazine. He helped his countrymen to the silver medal in London 2012.
Emanuel Rego
Sport: Beach volleyball
Country: Brazil
At 43, Rego has participated in five consecutive Summer Olympics, starting with Atlanta 1996. He won all seven matches in Athens 2004 to take home the gold and took silver and bronze in London 2012 and Beijing, respectively.
Mariana Pajón
Sport: BMX Cycling
Country: Colombia
Since winning the gold medal in her discipline in London 2012 - her first gold and only the second ever for Colombia - Pajón has won numerous honors and awards at competitions around the world. She is currently number one in the UCI's global ranking.
Caterine Ibargüen
Sport: Triple jump
Country: Colombia
A native of Antioquía, Caterine holds the most titles in the triple jump and is also a formidable contender in the high and long jumps. She won silver at her first Olympics in London 2012 and is a two-time world (Moscow 2013, Beijing 2015) and Pan-American (Guadalajara 2011, Toronto 2015) champion, winning bronze in the long jump at Guadalajara as well. Her collection also includes multiple titles from the Central American & Caribbean and South American Games.
Erick Barrondo
Sport: Racewalking
Country: Guatemala
The son of a cook and a farmer winner, Barrondo is his country's first-ever Olympic medalist. The silver he won in London 2012 also brought him the Guatemalan Congress's highest honor.
Javier Culson
Sport: 400-meter hurdles
Country: Puerto Rico
Culson's bronze in London 2012 gave Puerto Rico its first Olympic TRACK AND FIELD medal. Rio 2016 is an opportunity for him to earn the top honors that have eluded him so far in his Olympic career. His resume already includes gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in 2009 and silver in the World Championships, Pan-American and Central American & Caribbean Games.
Nery Brenes
Sport: 400-meter sprint
Country: Costa Rica
Brenes made his Olympic debut in Beijing 2008, where he reached the semifinals, and went on to compete in London 2012. He won gold at the 2012 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships in Istanbul and at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara.
Lugelín Santos
Sport: 400-meter sprint
Country: Dominican Republic
Santos joined the Dominican TRACK AND FIELD team in 2009 and is one of its top international contenders, winning silver at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara and gold four years later in Toronto 2015. He took silver at the London 2012 Olympics, BECOMING the youngest athlete in history to win a medal in the 400-meter sprint.
Mijaín López Núñez
Sport: Greco-Roman wrestling
Country: Cuba
Considered one of the best wrestlers of all time, the Pan-American champion, five-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion (Beijing and London) will be his delegation's flagbearer for the third time in a row.
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