The sixth-largest Puerto Rican Olympic delegation in our history made its debut last week at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
So you know who makes up the 51-athlete team competing for our third gold medal, we put together this guide with their biggest achievements so you can cheer every time you see them on screen.
Who are our flag bearers?
This year, as a symbol of Puerto Rican athletic strength, leading our Olympic delegation will be sprinter Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and wrestler Sebastián Rivera.
Camacho-Quinn, who competes in the 100-meter hurdles, has maintained her standing as one of the fastest world-class runners in her discipline since winning gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Her victory in Japan marked Puerto Rico's second Olympic gold medal in history, after Mónica Puig Marchán's win in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Sebastián Rivera, from Toms River, New Jersey, was the Division III national wrestling champion in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018 and is the current world silver medalist in Olympic wrestling in the 65-kilogram category, making him another of our strongest medal contenders.
These are our track and field athletes:
Alongside Camacho-Quinn, Puerto Rico brings a solid contingent of eight track and field athletes, double its delegation from Tokyo 2020.
Gladymar Torres Crespo: From Caguas, she competes in the 100 meters. She holds the national record at 11.20 seconds and will be the first Puerto Rican woman to run that event at the Olympics since Atlanta 1996.
Jerome Vega Llanos: From Luquillo, he won gold in the hammer throw at the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Rachelle De Orbeta Pérez: From San Juan, she ranked among the top race walkers in Central America and the Caribbean before qualifying for the Olympics.
Gabriella (Gabby) Scott Puig: Raised in San Diego, California, she is a standout sprinter in the 400 meters. She won silver at San Salvador 2023.
Luis Joel Castro Rivera: The high jumper from Sabana Abajo, Carolina, won silver at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
Grace Claxton Joseph: From San Juan and specializing in the 400-meter hurdles, she will compete in her second Olympics after Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Ayden Owens Delerme: Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he is shaping up as another strong medal prospect after posting the top decathlon mark in the world this year.
After both basketball teams qualified
For the first time in our history, both the men's and women's basketball teams qualified for the same Olympic Games simultaneously.
Las 12 Magníficas will appear in their second consecutive Games after their run at Tokyo 2020, while our men's basketball team returns to Olympic competition 20 years after its celebrated victory over the United States at the Athens Olympics.
Here is our roster of players:
A score to settle in table tennis
Table tennis player Adriana Díaz González, from Utuado and currently ranked No. 11 in the world, will compete for gold after her unfortunate quarterfinal loss at Tokyo 2020. With her arrival in Paris, the former Puerto Rican flag bearer will be competing in her third consecutive Olympics at just 23 years old.
She will be joined by her fellow Utuado natives Brian Afanador Pérez, who is also reaching his third Olympics, and Daniel González Negrón, making his Olympic debut after winning medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games.
Competing in combat sports
Historically, Puerto Rico has excelled in Olympic combat sports, securing six medals in boxing (five bronze and one silver) and one in wrestling, with Jaime Espinal's silver in 2012.
This year, the Island is well positioned to return from Paris with medals, led by Sebastián Rivera, but three additional wrestlers will give everything they have to come home with a medal.
Darián Cruz: From Allentown, Pennsylvania, he competes in the 57-kilogram category. He won bronze at the 2020 Pan American Games in Ottawa and at Santiago 2023.
Ethan Ramos: From Paterson, New Jersey, he wrestles in the 86-kilogram division. He recently finished fourth at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago.
Jonovan Smith: Raised in the United States by a Puerto Rican father, he won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2023 Central American Games in San Salvador.
Who represents us in boxing?
Juanma 'Juanmita' López de Jesús: From Caguas and the son of the well-known professional boxer, he will make his Olympic debut in the 51-kilogram category nearly 20 years after his father competed at Athens 2004.
Ashleyann Lozada Motta: From Corozal, competing in the 57-kilogram division, she earned her spot at Paris 2024 after winning a gold medal at Santiago 2023.
And in judo?
Adrián Gandía Ginés: From Trujillo Alto, he won gold at the 2023 Central American Games in San Salvador. These will be his second Olympics, after Tokyo 2020.
María Pérez Marcano: A judoka from Carolina, she was the flag bearer for the Puerto Rican delegation at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, where she won silver, and will compete in her third Olympic Games.
Puerto Ricans to watch in other events
Athletes such as shooter Yarimar Mercado Martínez and skater Steven Piñeiro Pagán will return to the Olympics after their performances at Tokyo 2020. In swimming, look for Kristen Romano Anglada and Yeziel Morales Miranda, while Maycey Vieta will make her Olympic debut in diving.
Meanwhile, Rafael Campos will compete again in golf and Pedro Fernández Gamboa will compete in sailing, as will Alondra Rivera in archery.
Want to see the Olympic schedule? Visit the Paris 2024 Olympic Games portal here.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
