Dominicans in Beijing 2008 Olympics

D

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Was not too good of a day for Dominican athletes in the Olympics. Hopes were high for 21-year old weightlifter Yudelki Contreras, a Panamerican gold medallist, who placed 5th in her group. Still it is the best performance in an Olympics for a weightlifter. As reported in Diario Libre, Yudelki said she was affected by the doping test. "What happened was that yesterday they came to get me for the doping test. I was at the precise weight and then I had to drink lots of water, and then I went over the weight and I had to get into the sauna to loose it and that affected me a lot," she said.

Boxer Felix Diaz won his first fight. Maria Garcia, in judo, will fight again after defeating Andressa Fernandes of Brazil in a closed combat (2-1), but she then lost to a Korean and was eliminated.
 
M

miguelspencer

New member
Jan 31, 2008
201
0
0
As long as our athletes come from the same background as Felix Sanchez, all we have are only slim chances of victory. Not to say we won't, we may get some, I mean even the President confides in God for our country's future, but outside of the island we all know faith is only good enough.

We need to take advantage of foreign intervension or investment (F. S?nchez's situation) so then we can shine as Dominicana's pride and joy. (Weird, but the examples abound)
 
S

sokitoumi

Guest
you will notice that alot of the competitors have an american accent - wherever they come from - as most train in the us universities- even the south african swimmer that won gold sounded american - I think i forgot what my point was lol
 
D

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Gabriel Mercedes wins in taekwondo

Dominican Yulis Gabriel Mercedes made it to the medal final in the men's taekwondo under 58kg division. He lost to Mexican Guillermo Perez in a judge's decision after a four-round match. The score was tied 1-1, but the judges awarded Mexican Guillermo Perez the gold because he had scored first. This is the country's first silver in an Olympics, and a first for taekwondo. The country has previously won in boxing (Pedro Nolasco in Los Angeles 1984) and 400m hurdles (Felix Sanchez in Athens 2004).
In the Beijing Games, the only other medal so far is a bronze by boxer Felix Diaz. Diaz could bring home the silver or gold yet, as he has not yet finished.
For photos of the bout, see Yulis Gabriel Mercedes News - Topix
 
K

Kyle

Silver
Jun 2, 2006
4,266
161
0
there's the woman ping pong player. she is asian though and still in contention for the DR....
 
D

D-Money

New member
Apr 13, 2006
44
0
0
Boxer Felix Diaz

The guy is in the final.He has a chance for gold!!!!We already have a silver medalist.I dont know why we dont have more boxing fighters.Maybe not enough boxing gyms in DR.Congrats to Felix Diaz, now bring home the gold!!!!!U can do it!!!!
 
B

bonao99

Member
Jun 11, 2005
214
14
18
Gold medal for Felix Diaz !!!!!!

In other news Brazil won its first women's volleyball gold medal vs US

Bonao99
 
K

Kyle

Silver
Jun 2, 2006
4,266
161
0
what about the dominican silver medalist in tae-kwon-do since we're way off track in the baseball forum :laugh:
 
E

ExtremeR

Silver
Mar 22, 2006
3,078
328
0
Kyle said:
what about the dominican silver medalist in tae-kwon-do since we're way off track in the baseball forum :laugh:
Click to expand...

Deserved the gold, beat the 2 favorites of the tournament but the judge won?t give him his credit. For me he is a gold medallist.
 
M

Mr. Lu

Bronze
Mar 26, 2007
1,091
88
0
It's interesting, I have been speaking with many Dominicans who no longer hold Felix Sanchez's medal on the pedestal the way they did weeks ago. Many Dominicans are now disregarding his medal saying that at least now "this medal is our very own."

What does this mean? Sanchez was born and raised in the US and only ran for the DR because he was left off the US team. So by default, though he is Dominican, he is an American. But these guys, both Diaz and Mercedes, were born and raised here and are "true" Dominicans. They reflect the lack of opportunities that many Dominicans live with, yet also highlight the many possibilities of success. Their success for many Dominicans is now more attainable because Diaz and Mercedes are "Dominicanos de pura cepa."

It reflects, in my opinions the division between Dominicans and Dominican Americans and the value of this medal for poor Dominicans who see guys from the gutter do the best they can and succeed.


Mr. Lu
 
2

2dlight

Bronze
Jun 3, 2004
970
36
28
Dominican-American Athletes...

A few years ago I coached an American-Dominican athlete to the US's first silver medal at a world championship in a sport that is yet to be practised in the DR. I convinced him not to try competing for the DR since there was no governing body for the sport there, he spoke little Spanish and had never been to the motherland and didn't know the culture. He was also the best the US had to offer and didn't need a "back-door" entry to the game. I'll understand the "de pura cepa" pride by real Dominicans when the DR pours money into developing world-class athletes in sports that require more than kicking, punching and running fast. My apologies if I've offended anyone in those sports. I'm a fan of martial arts, boxing and track-and-field. I also plan to coach kids free of charge in the DR if my retirement plans proceed as planned.
 
R

Ricardo900

Silver
Jul 12, 2004
3,269
37
48
Say it ain't so

Mr. Lu said:
It's interesting, I have been speaking with many Dominicans who no longer hold Felix Sanchez's medal on the pedestal the way they did weeks ago. Many Dominicans are now disregarding his medal saying that at least now "this medal is our very own."
Click to expand...



I thought Super Sanchez was a national hero, with a stadium named after him and everything even though he is more american than dominican.
 
Q

qgrande

Bronze
Jul 27, 2005
805
4
0
Dolores said:
The Times from GB says that the DR was the big winner of the Games.

Forget China's 100 medals. The real winner of the Games was... | Chris Dillow - Times Online
Click to expand...


Interesting article. But...
"The winner is the Dominican Republic. Its one gold and one silver put it 47th in the medals table, while its puny economy is only the 179th in the world."

179th??? the DR isn't that small or poor, or indeed puny. Would The Times perhaps maybe possibly surely not but still have confused the DR with Dominica? Oh Dear....

Anyway, well done for both Dominican athletes!! (or Dom?nican? :ermm:)
 
A

A.Hidalgo

Silver
Apr 28, 2006
3,268
98
0
And the writer of the article is an economic adviser. Sloppy homework in my estimation. I wrote a response to the article.:disappoin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom