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Colombia Adds Gold and Bronze BMX Medals to Their List

· Written by Lully Translated by Marianna Breytman

Categories: Latin America, Colombia, Citizen Media, Good News, Sport, Olympics

This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics [1].  

Colombia showed real excitement with respect to the last two medals that were won in the BMX [2] (Bicycle motocross) competition by Mariana Pajón, who won the second gold medal [3] in Colombia's Olympic history, and Carlos Oquendo, who won the bronze. With these two achievements, Colombia totaled eight medals in the London 2012 games.

Colombians responded and expressed themselves on Twitter with particularly patriotic sentiments. Felipe Londoño (@FelipeLondoo2 [4]) [es], for example, thanked both athletes for the good image they have given to the country:

@FelipeLondoo2: [5] Mariana Pajón y Carlos Oquendo hacen quedar hoy el Nombre del País en alto. MUCHAS GRACIAS

@FelipeLondoo2 [5]: Mariana Pajón and Carlos Oquendo really boosted the country's reputation.  THANK YOU SO MUCH
Mariana Pajón. Photo from Flickr user smokeghost under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) [6]

Mariana Pajón. Photo from Flickr user smokeghost under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Alejandra Echeverry (@AlejaEcheverryA [7]) [es] used the provincial government of Antioquia's official hashtag to mention that the two athletes were born in that region:

@AlejaEcheverryA [8]: Mariana Pajon y Carlos Mario Oquendo Son de Antioquia #FelizCumpleañosAntioquia [9]

@AlejaEcheverryA [8]: Mariana Pajon and Carlos Mario Oquendo are from Antioquia #FelizCumpleañosAntioquia [9] (#HappyBirthdayAntioquia)

Jenny Cruz García (@Jenny_CruzGarci [10]) [es] valued the joy that the two BMX riders’ achievement has produced:

@Jenny_CruzGarci [11]: La felicidad que Mariana Pajón y Carlos Mario Oquendo hoy nos dieron a los colombianos, no tiene precio. #Grandes [12]

@Jenny_CruzGarci [11]: The happiness that Mariana Pajón and Carlos Mario Oquendo have given us Colombians today is priceless. #Grandes [12] (#TheGreats)

The blogosphere has also been actively following these olympic triumphs. While the blog Mundo Deportivo highlighted [13] [es] the two medals, the blog Deporte stressed [14] [es] the fact that Mariana Pajón's medal is the second gold medal in Colombia's history in the Olympics.

They also looked back at the achievements in these games in the same post, and confirmed that this was the country's best performance in their 80 years of Olympic participation:

Un oro, tres platas, cuatro bronces y catorce diplomas olímpicos, además de 104 atletas compitiendo en los Juegos Olímpicos (delegación más grande de la historia) confirman que Londres 2012 es la mejor participación colombiana en la historia de los Juegos Olímpicos.

One gold, three silver, four bronze, and fourteen Olympic diplomas, in addition to the 104 athletes competing in the Olympic Games (largest delegation in history) confirm that London 2012 had the best Colombian participation in the history of the Olympic Games.

On Sunday, August 12, Mariana Pajón (@marianapajon [15]) [es] shared her excitement about carrying the Colombian flag during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games:

@marianapajon [16]: Para cerrar con broche de oro + orgullosa no puedo estar al llevar mi bandera en la clausura, unos juegos in http://instagr.am/p/OP4e6ZDEGA/  [17]

@marianapajon [16]: To end on a high note, I couldn't be prouder to carry my flag during the closing ceremony http://instagr.am/p/OP4e6ZDEGA/  [17]

This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics [1].