Aug 4
(Reuters) - Erick Barrondo walked into Guatemala's history books on Saturday as
its first Olympic medal winner and said he hoped the magic of the moment would
help his countrymen back home pick up trainers in future instead of guns.
"It's
well known that Guatemala has problems with guns and knives," Barrondo
said after finishing second in the men's 20km race walk, which took in the
sights of Buckingham Palace.
"I
hope that this medal inspires the kids at home to put down guns and knives and
pick up a pair of trainers instead. If they do that, I will be the happiest guy
in the world."
The
21-year-old, whose parents were both middle distance runners, even broke away
from journalists' questions to take a call from Guatemala's president, Otto
Perez Molina.
"The
president congratulated me on the first Olympic medal for the country. He told
me that everyone had come out on the streets to celebrate the triumph,"
said Barrondo, who finished 11 seconds behind China's Chen Ding.
"It
was a glorious day for me, but the glory is most of all for my country,"
he added.
In a day of
firsts in London the race was won by Chen, who together with his third placed
compatriot Wang Zhen were the first Chinese men to win an Olympic medal in a
race walking event.
Barrondo,
who finished 10th in last year's 20km race walk final at the world
championships in Daegu, worked hard to stay in contention among a Chinese and
Russian dominated leading pack before breaking away to split China's duo on the
final stretch.
(Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Michael Holden)
 |
Erick
Barrondo of Guatemala as he crossed the finish
line in London on Saturday. (Markus
Schreiber/
Associated Press)
|
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