Domingo Cordero Clase (born 17 October 1965 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a retired Puerto Rican track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 metres hurdles. [1] His personal best time was 49.12 seconds, achieved in July 1991 in Xalapa. This was the Puerto Rican record.
He won gold medals at the 1990 and 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games as well as the 1989 and 1991 Central American and Caribbean Championships. He won the bronze medal at the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Championships and the silver medal in 1995.
He also competed at the Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 1996 as well as the World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997 without reaching the final.
Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández is a Puerto Rican former professional tennis player. Fernández won 17 major doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals representing the United States, and reached the world No. 1 ranking in doubles. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 17 in 1991. Since retiring from the professional tour in 1997 at the age of 33, Fernández has been a tennis coach and entrepreneur. She now shares her knowledge of doubles with tennis enthusiasts throughout the US by conducting Master Doubles with Gigi Clinics and Doubles Boot Camps. Fernández is the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak (Taíno) tribes who inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose for competition. One of the sports which the Taíno's played was a ball game called "Batey". The "Batey" was played in U-shaped fields two teams; however, unlike the ball games of the modern era, the winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed.
The Puerto Rico national basketball team represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation, The team represents both FIBA and FIBA Americas.
Yvonne Harrison Castro, also spelled Ivonne is a Puerto Rican athlete who specialized in the 400 metres hurdles. She competed at two World Junior Championships, two World Championships, one World Indoor Championships and one Olympic Games.
Juan "Pachín" Vicéns Sastre was a Puerto Rican basketball player. Vicéns was famous for his performance with the Leones de Ponce and with the Puerto Rican national basketball team. During the 1959 FIBA World Championship in Chile, Vicéns was declared to be the Best Player in the World.
Flor Meléndez Montañez is a Puerto Rican retired basketball player and current coach. He is a former head coach of Puerto Rico’s men’s national basketball team, Argentina men's national basketball team, and Panama men's national basketball team. Currently, he coaches in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional as an assistant coach for Gigantes de Carolina.
Victor José Bisbal Melero is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games in the heavyweight division and bronze at the 2003 Pan American Games. He also participated at the 2004 Olympics in the super heavyweight division.
Diego Lizardi Marcial was a Puerto Rican athlete specialized in gymnastics. During his career, Lizardi represented Puerto Rico in several international tournaments including two Summer Olympic Games.
Annerys Victoria Vargas Valdez is a retired female volleyball player from the Dominican Republic who won four consecutive gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Milagros Cabral De La Cruz is a retired female volleyball player from the Dominican Republic who won the 1998 silver and three consecutive gold medals in 2002, 2006 and 2010 at the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Edgardo Guilbe Alomar is a Puerto Rican former sprinter who specialized in the 200 metres. His personal best time was 20.53 seconds, achieved in July 1989 in San Juan.
Elmer Williams González is a retired Puerto Rican long jumper.
Esther Julia "Daysi" Duporty Torres is a retired sprinter from Cuba, who competed at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. She set her personal best (50.61) in the women's 400 metres event on 6 September 1994 in Madrid.
Yojer Enrique Medina is a Venezuelan shot putter and discus thrower.
Gina Altagracia Mambrú Casilla is a volleyball player from the Dominican Republic, who played the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2014 World Championship ranking fifth in both competitions. She won the gold medal at the 2010 and 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games and bronze at the 2015 Pan American Games.
Aníbal Santiago Acevedo is a Puerto Rican boxer, who won a bronze medal in the welterweight division at the 1992 Summer Olympics. A year earlier he won the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.
Gerardo Miguel Bisbal Melero is a heavyweight boxer from Puerto Rico. He is best known for having been the first Puerto Rican boxer to win medals in three Central American and Caribbean Games. He also won for first time in Puerto Rico boxing history a gold medal in the Super Heavyweight division. His brother Victor Bisbal was gold medallist in heavyweight in 2002, since 1954 no Puerto Rican had won gold medal in heavyweight.
Javier Antonio "Toñito" Colón is a retired Puerto Rican basketball player. Colón spent his entire career as a point guard for the Leones de Ponce of the BSN from 1987 to 2008. Colón led the team to five championships during his career, and is currently third on assists of all-time in the league. Colón also played for the Puerto Rico National Basketball Team from 1990 to 1999.
Baseball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. In terms of spectators and active participants, it is the premier sport on the island.
Luis Joel Castro Rivera is a Puerto Rican track and field athlete who specializes in the high jump. He participated in the final of the 2016 Summer Olympics finishing 13th and in the final of the 2019 World Championships reaching the 12th place. He won the gold medal at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games with 2.25 m and a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games with 2.24 m.
