Being Latino’s Olympic recap: First 4 days

If there were ever a good time to have a two-week staycation, it’s definitely now. School hasn’t started yet, so while everyone else is stealing hours at work trying to keep up with the Summer Olympics, I’m chillin’ on my couch watching the games on my TV and computer (Rubio for the win!)….

The first four days of London 2012 have already provided us with a ton of exciting, dramatic moments. But rather than rehash the Opening Ceremony, the Fab Five or #NBCFail, I’ll give you Being Latino’s version of a days 1 through 4 recap.

Women’s Soccer: A ‘Lady’ she is not

The biggest non-Hope Solo-related story to come from the U.S. women’s 3-0 defeat over Colombia in the group stages was the sucker punch that Colombia’s Lady Andrade gave to U.S. star Abby Wambach (ouch). While the punch went “unnoticed” during the match, Andrade was retroactively suspended for Colombia’s next two games.

Men’s Swimming: Lochte’s the man, and then he isn’t, and then he is.

Cuban-American Ryan Lochte has been swimming in Michael Phelps’s wake for some time now. But on Saturday he won the gold in the 400-meter individual medley by a good margin (with Phelps finishing fourth). Unfortunately, just one day later, Lochte was the anchor in the 4 x 100 relay, and was blamed for blowing the lead his teammates had provided. Fair or not, it seems that Lochte fell victim to the curse of the grill. Luckily, Lochte and Team USA would have their revenge as they cruised to the gold in 4 x 200 relay on Tuesday.

Diving: Mexico’s 2^nd place gold medals

It must be said that diving is a sport that is simply dominated by the Chinese. In Beijing, they won seven out of eight possible gold medals. Out of the three diving events thus far, the Chinese have, you guessed it, three gold medals (they’re the favorites in the remaining five diving events). Normally a silver medal is already a big deal, but in this sport, it’s about as good as it’s going to get for non-Chinese competitors. So congratulations to Ivan Garcia and German Sanchez (men’s synchronized 10-meter platform) and Paola Espinoza and Alejandra Orozco (women’s synchronized 10-meter platform) for bringing home Mexico’s only two medals thus far.

Brazil, Colombia and Cuba medal

Congrats are also in order for the other Latin American countries that have medaled thus far. Brazil has three:a gold for Sarah Menezes in women’s judo, a bronze for Felipe Kitadai in men’s judo, and a silver for Thiago Pereira in swimming. Colombia has two: a silver for Rigoberto Uran in men’s cycling and a silver for Oscar Figueroa in men’s weightlifting. Cuba has one medal, which was a silver that went to Yanet Bermoy in women’s judo.

Men’s Soccer: Los Catrachos take out the world champs

The biggest story in men’s soccer has been the outstanding play of Brazil’s 20-year-old star Neymar, but the biggest victory belongs to Honduras. In probably the biggest upset of the first four days of London 2012, La H outplayed defending World and European champions Spain in a 1-0 victory. Even if it wasn’t Spain’s senior team (Olympic rules only allow for three players above the age of 23), knocking out La Roja is a gigantic achievement for Central America’s best soccer team (and I’m Salvadoreño, so it hurts to say that).

That’s all for now. Be sure to check back in on Friday, Aug. 5, for a recap of days 5 through 7.