Colombia Achieves Historic Results in London 2012 · Global Voices
Lully

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
Update (9 August, 2012): Hours after this post was published, Jackeline Rentería won Colombia's sixth medal at the London 2012 Olympics. Rentería won a bronze medal in wrestling.
In the history of Colombia in the Olympic Games, London 2012 has consolidated itself as the year of the country's best Olympic performance. This delegation has exceeded what was achieved in Munich 1972, where Colombia obtained one silver medal and two bronze, and even Sidney 2000, when Colombia received its only gold medal in weightlifting by Maria Isabel Urrutia.
This time Colombia sent a delegation of more than 100 athletes, in which the women's delegation [es] made up the highest percentage in the Americas (57.8). Up until now the women in the delegation had obtained a bronze medal in judo by the judoka Yuri Alvear and a silver medal in triple jump by the athlete Caterine Ibarguen. [Editor's note: See update above]. The men in the Colombian delegation have met their wining quota with a bronze medal won by Oscar Muñoz [es] in taekwondo, 58 kilos, and two silver medals: one obtained by Rigoberto Uran in road racing, and the other by Óscar Figueroa in weight lifting with an Olympic record of 177 kg.
Óscar Figueroa, silver medal in weightlifting. Photo from Flicker user Peter J Dean, used under Creative Common license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Spirits are high with the hope of a possible gold medal from the cyclist Mariana Pajón, with which Colombia would secure its position between the top 30 on the medal charts and would exceed the experst’ forecasts.
These five medals have inspired excitement among the people, who have shared their joy on the Internet in light of their athletes’ good performance. Social networks have also contributed reports, pictures, and various expressions.
Marisol Ochoa‏ (@marisol8acardon) [es] values the representation of women in sports:
@marisol8acardon: Me enorgullece más que una mujer colombiana gane una medalla en los juegos olímpicos a que gane una corona por su belleza física.
Highlighting the performance of the women in the delegation, María Isabel (‏@Marita1899) [es] refers herself with pride to her compatriot Caterine Ibarguen:
@Marita1899: Caterine Ibarguen… Ejemplo de vida y ORGULLO COLOMBIANO!!
Meanwhile the journalist Pablo (@pablodenarvaez7) [es] acts as commentator on August 1 in the moment that Yuri Alvear begins her competition:
@pablodenarvaez7: La yudoka colombiana Yuri Alvear ya combate en los JJOO. ¡Atención!
María Nelly Prada (@marianellyprada) [es], meanwhile, values the new medal of the young Oscar Muñoz in taekwondo:
@Maríanellyprada:  La imagen del día en los olímpicos para mi fue la de Oscar Muñoz… medalla de bronce, y sin tanta propaganda.
Highlighting the participation of Oscar Figuera, the use @HEVERTH5 [es] writes:
@HEVERTH5: La constancia vale plata-La medalla al pesista Oscar Figueroa en los olímpicos de Londres
And Paola Posso Vergara‏ (@PAOLAGAGAPOSSO) [es] praises Rigoberto Urán:
@paolagagaposso: ¡Orgullosa de Rigoberto Urán!
Facebook [es] and blogs have dedicated [es] special entries [es] to the medals [es], the athletes [es] and their achievements [es]. But, in spite of so much excitement [es] and enthusiasm, others also make analogies [es] about the difficult realities that the country faces.
Daniel Navia (@Daniel_Navia) [es], wrote the following when Colombia had obtained the cyclist Rigoverto Urán's first silver medal:
@Daniel_Navia: Colombia ya tiene una medalla de plata. Solo nos falta arreglar el sector salud, educativo y político para ser un país viable.
Later, Miller Castañeda D (@millercasta) [es] honored Oscar Figueroa's performance:
@Millercasta: Siempre será mejor una medalla de plata y récord olímpico para Colombia en pesas, a una medalla de oro en corrupción. Grande Figueroa.
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.