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Chile: Olympic Athletes Bring London 2012 to Fans

Categories: Latin America, Chile, Citizen Media, Sport, Olympics

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics [1].

Chilean athletes who are competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games have been active on Twitter, sharing their experiences and hopes, and also chatting with their fans.

Denisse van Lamoen  [2](@dvanlamoen [3]) [es], a female archer who was selected by popular vote as the flagbearer for the delegation, shared pictures taken on July 24 after the flag ceremony:

@dvanlamoen [4]: Con Fernanda, Jorge y Tomás a la salida de la ceremonia de la bandera.pic.twitter.com/LgRhBcXM [5]

@dvanlamoen [4] [es]: With Fernanda, Jorge and Tomas after the flag ceremony. pic.twitter.com/LgRhBcXM [5]

@dvanlamoen [6]: Todo muy colorido y alegre, una inyección de energía para los días que vienen. Realmente fue precioso!pic.twitter.com/ztY6jkE9 [7]

@dvanlamoen [6] [es]: Everything is colorful and cheerful, an injection of energy for the days to come. Really beautiful! pic.twitter.com/ztY6jkE9 [7]

She later thanked Twitter users who replied to her tweets:

@dvanlamoen [8]: Hoy práctica oficial. Mil gracias a todos los q a diario m dan apoyo x twitter y otras vías, me los llevo a la cancha! pic.twitter.com/GqjdztEs [9]

@dvanlamoen [8] [es]: Today at formal training. Thank you so much to all those who show their support to me daily through Twitter and other media, I'm taking all of you to the court! pic.twitter.com/GqjdztE [9]
[10]

Chilean Olympic delegation with President Sebastián Piñera. Photo by Flickr user Tu Foto con el Presidente (CC BY 2.0)

Tomás González [11], (@tomasgonzalez1 [12]) [es] a gymnast who specializes in vault and floor exercises, and one of Chile's biggest hopes for a medal, also showed his gratitude:

@tomasgonzalez1 [13]: Por fin en Londres! Muchas gracias a todos los chilenos que vinieron al aeropuerto a darme la bienvenida!! #london2012 [14]

@tomasgonzalez1 [13] [es]: Finally in London! Thank you so much to all the Chileans who came to the airport to welcome me!! #london2012 [14]

Swimmer Kristel Köbrich [15] (@kristelkobrich) [16] [es] won gold in 800m freestyle in the 2011 Pan American Games [17] in Guadalajara, México, and will be turning 27 during the Olympic Games. On Twitter she referred to the heat in London:

@kristelkobrich [18]: Desde Londres!! Todo muy bien aparte del calor!!! Entren a mi pagina [sic] http://www.kristelkobrich.com  y vean las ultimas [sic] novedades mias [sic]

@kristelkobrich [18] [es]: In London! Everything is great except for the heat! Go to my website http://www.kristelkobrich.com to read about the latest news.

Benjamín Grez (@BenjaGrez [19]) [es], who will compete in sailing, shared a picture having lunch with Fernando González, a Chilean tennis player who won gold and silver medals during the Beijing Olympics:

@BenjaGrez [20]: Comiendo con un grande @elfergonzalez [21] en la villa después de la reunión con el embajador de Chile en Inglaterra!pic.twitter.com/3h4DdcQD [22]

@BenjaGrez [20] [es]: Having lunch with the great @elfergonzalez [21] at the villa after a meeting with the Chilean ambassador to England pic.twitter.com/3h4DdcQD [22]

He also updated his Facebook [23] [es] page on July 26, moments before leaving for the opening ceremony in London:

Excelente el dia [sic] para navegar. Salimos tempranito a entrenar y nos tocaron condiciones espectaculares, solcito y 15 nudos. Estuvimos navegando 2 horas y midiéndonos[sic] con los argentinos y japoneses! Ahora vamos con el equipo camino a Londres a una reunión con el embajador y parte de la delegación. Esta noche alojamos en la villa de Londres y mañana tenemos el desfile de la ceremonia inaugural que se viene a fondo. Ya nos van qedando [sic] solo una semana para el baile!

An excellent day for sailing. We left very early to train and we got great weather condition, sunny and 15 knots. We sailed for 2 hours measuring against the Argentinians and the Japanese! Now we are going to London for a meeting with the ambassador and part of the delegation. Tonight we will stay at the villa in London and tomorrow we have the inaugural ceremony. We are only one week away from the competition!

Among the netizens who wished the best for the Chilean delegation was journalist Raimundo Gregoire (@Ratopado [24]) [es]:

@Ratopado [25]: Un abrazo GIGANTE y los mejores deseos para las/los deportistas que representarán a Chile en los Juegos Olímpicos y Paralímpicos de Londres.

@Ratopado [25] [es]: A HUGE hug and the best wishes for the athletes who will represent Chile in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics [1].