Olympics: Félix Sánchez is golden in 400-meter hurdles

By Dialogo
August 07, 2012

LONDON – Here’s what you might have missed in recent Olympic action:

Dominican Republic’s Félix Sánchez: He claimed gold in the 400 meter hurdles in a blazing 47.63 seconds. Sánchez easily bested the United States’ Michael Tinsley (47.91) and Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson (48.10) to take his place on the top of the medal podium. After the race, Sanchez dedicated his performance to his late grandmother.
“I’ve been really emotional all week, thinking about her,” Sánchez told reporters. “All of us do it — you think about winning, you train so hard. You get to this moment and everything has to go right for you to pull it off.”

Cuba’s Mijaín López: The heavyweight retained his Olympic title when he claimed gold in the Greco-Roman 120-kilogram (264-pound) class with a victory over Estonia’s Heiki Nabi in the final. López, a four-time world champion who claimed gold four years ago in Beijing, celebrated with a victory lap around the arena with his country’s flag over his shoulders.
López also carried Cuba’s flag at the opening ceremony.

Brazil’s Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti: Zanetti, 22, became the first Brazilian gymnast to earn a gold medal when he claimed the top spot in the rings competition. He scored a 15.9 on his routine, just ahead of China’s Chen Yibing (15.8) and Italy’s Matteo Morandi (15.733). Yibing defeated Zanetti at last year’s world championships.
“Now I’m No. 1, but I have him to thank for coming this far because it was by training to beat him that I managed to do it,” Zanetti told reporters. “I knew it was very difficult but not impossible and my concentration and all my long years of training paid off.”

Here’s what you should keep an eye on Aug. 8:


Men’s basketball: Brazil (4-1) faces Argentina (3-2) in the quarterfinals after rallying for an 88-82 win over Spain (3-2) en route to the Group B title. Argentina, which is coming off a 126-97 loss to the United States (5-0), finished third in Group A. The winner advances to the semifinals on Aug. 10.

Women’s field hockey: Argentina (3-1-1), which finished atop Group B, is slated to face Great Britain (3-2) in the semifinals. The hosts finished second in Group A. The winner advances to the gold medal game on Aug. 10 against the winner of the Netherlands (5-0) and New Zealand (3-1-1).

Men’s volleyball: Brazil (4-1) finished second in Group B and earned a quarterfinal berth against Argentina (3-2), which finished third in Group A. The winner advances to the semifinals on Aug. 10 and will face the winner of the United States (4-1) and Italy (3-2).