Latin American athletes have kept a low profile since the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, taking only three silver and six bronze medals in five days. However, people have many reasons to believe that they will deliver, as their signature events are soon to begin.
Seven of the nine medals gained by the Latin American Olympians so far came from Judo, a sport usually dominated by the Asians. The fact that Cubans, Brazilians and Argentines have won medals on the mat illustrates the growing popularity of this "oriental event" in the Latin American region.
However, the Latin Americans still lag behind in some major gold-yielding sports, such as shooting, swimming, diving and gymnastics. Only a Mexican pair took a bronze in women's 10m synchronized platform.
But hope is looming, as the field and track competition, in which Latin America boasts super stars like men's 110m hurdle world record holder Cuban Dayron Robles, reigning and former men's 100m sprint world record holders Jamaican Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, will start from Friday. The Cuban-dominated boxing competition will also go into full swing soon.
As the Olympic soccer, basketball and volleyball competitions are entering the quarterfinal stage, show time for the Latin American players is coming. Four years ago, Argentina grabbed both men's soccer gold and men's basketball gold at the Athens Games. In Beijing, the Argentine men's soccer team remains a hot favorite.
The mighty Argentine men's soccer team, led by Juan Roman Riquelme and Lionel Messi, has got three straight wins in the preliminaries, proving itself in good form.
Although the Brazilians scored the best record in their Olympic history with four golds, three silvers and three bronzes at the Athens Games, it won't be easy for them to repeat the glory in Beijing. The Brazilians have pinned their hope on men's and women's volleyball teams, as well as their women's soccer team this time.
Led by Ronaldinho, Brazil's men's soccer squad also had three wins in the preliminaries, but their rivals in the group, such as New Zealand and China, were simply too weak to give a full test to the team's true strength.
The Cuban women's volleyball team, three-time Olympic champions who just conquered their mighty Chinese challengers on Wednesday night, is seeking to be crowned again.
The Chileans reaped two Olympic golds on the tennis court four years ago, but this time they may not be as lucky as in Athens, for the attendance of tennis legends Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Beijing Games.
But the Jamaicans seem all set to shine here, with big names like Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, as well as Veronica Campbell, who is a hot favorite for women's 100m and 200m sprint.
(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)