Gigi Fernandez was also born in San Juan but when she was a gold medallist in doubles in 1992 and 1996, she was playing under the United States flag.
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Tennis player Monic Puig won Puerto Rico its first ever gold medal at an Olympic Games with 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win over Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
Before the second set, Kerber had to leave the court for a treatment break.
That set the foundation for the thrilling decider where Puig raced into a 5-0 lead before having to suffer for her place in history during a marathon seventh game.
Puig is also the first woman representing Puerto Rico to earn a medal of any color at an Olympics, and when she finished a tense closing game – saving six break points and converting her fourth match point – she dropped her racket and went over to collect a flag she paraded across the court.
After two close sets were shared one apiece, Kerber, who claimed her maiden grand slam at the Australian Open in January, simply could not match Puig’s intensity in the final set.
On 14 August, attention switches to the men’s singles final where Great Britain’s Andy Murray attempts to mount the first ever successful defence of the title against Juan del Potro of Argentina.
The world number 141 Del Potro, whose career was nearly ended by a series of wrist surgeries, triumphed after three hours and eight minutes of epic action. But the Argentinian fought back to win 5-7, 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
Puig’s win against Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitová advanced her to the finals of women’s singles. – “Yes, we can!” – during the Rio de Janeiro Games women’s tennis final.
Four years ago, Jaime Espinal won a wrestling silver while 400m hurdler Javier Culson took home a bronze.
Moradi’s success comes a day after compatriot Kianoush Rostami set a new world record of 396 kilograms in his 85kg weight class on his way to securing the gold medal.
DISCUS Newly-crowned Olympic discus champion Christoph Harting has apologised for his antics on the podium and refusal to give interviews. Puig’s win comes as a surprise to all.
Christoph’s brother Robert, who was watching on in the Olympic stadium, won gold in the same event at London 2012, and on a sun-soaked morning in Rio, Christoph repeated the feat with a throw of 68.37m. “I just owe this one to them”.
In the final night in the pool, Michael Phelps swam the third leg as the United States of America romped to gold in the 4x100m medley relay.
Puig is cognizant of her country’s issues, and said that her motivation throughout the Olympics has been winning for her nation. That island has given me so much love and support my whole career. “My swimming career might be over, but it’s time do something else”.
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Juan Martin del Potro ended Rafael Nadal’s bid for an unprecedented second Olympic singles gold medal in a thrill-a-minute semifinal, then celebrated as if the title were already his, kneeling to kiss the court before leaping into the stands.
