| Puerto Rico at the 2012 Summer Paralympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IPC code | PUR |
| NPC | Comite Paralimpico de Puerto Rico |
| in London | |
| Competitors | 2 in 2 sports |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Paralympics appearances | |
Puerto Rico competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom from August 29 to September 9, 2012. [1]
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Benitez Sanchez | Shot Put F20 | 9.88 | 13 |
| Athlete | Event | Race | Net points | Rank | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11* | ||||
| Julio Reguerro Hernandez | 2.4 mR - 1 person keelboat | 9 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 5 | (13) | 11 | 7 | N/A | 70 | 9 |
* Due to a lack of wind Race 11 was cancelled
Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and from 1898 to 1932 also called Porto Rico in English, is an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.
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.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's fifteenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
Puerto Rico first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. Puerto Rico has also participated in the Winter Olympic Games since 1984, but missed the Games of 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Puerto Rico competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics which was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. The American territory with a population of four million people qualified 22 athletes in eight different sports. The appearance of the Puerto Rican delegation at the Beijing Olympics marked the commonwealth's sixteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics, and its twenty-second appearance at any Olympic games, since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. Of its competitors participating in events that involve progression by heats, six athletes advanced at least one round in their events, and two advanced at least two rounds, with Asunción Ocasio almost medaling bronze in taekwondo. However, there were no Puerto Rican medalists at the Beijing Olympics. McWilliams Arroyo, a boxer, bore Puerto Rico's flag at the ceremonies.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The delegation consisted of three competitors, one track and field athlete, one sailor, and one sport shooter.
Jessica Marie Steffens is an American water polo player. She was a member of the United States national teams that won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also played at Stanford University.
Athletics at the 1988 Summer Paralympics consisted of 344 events. Because of ties for third place in the men's 800 metre A1–3/A9/L2 and precision throw C1 events, a total of 346 bronze medals were awarded. Because of a tie for first place in the women's 100 m 5–6 345 gold medals and 343 silver medals were awarded. Bulgaria, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia won their first ever medals in this sport.
Javier Culson Pérez is a Puerto Rican athlete and Olympiad bronze medalist who specialises in the 400-metre hurdles. After becoming involved with the discipline in his late teen years, he entered the podium in some regional youth events, including the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships. Culson is a two-time silver medallist at the International Association of Athletics Federations's (IAAF) World Championships and an elite contender in the Samsung Diamond League, where he finished second overall in 2011. He has also garnished medals in events with lower profiles, including the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Ibero-American Championships. He currently holds the record as "the world's fastest man" in that category. Culson also competed at the 2012 Olympics in London winning the bronze medal in the 400-metre hurdles race. In the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Culson made it all the way to the finals of the men's 400m hurdles only to be disqualified by a false start.
Puerto Rico made its Paralympic Games début at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, with a delegation of twelve competitors in archery, athletics, shooting and table tennis. It has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, but never in the Winter Paralympics.
Isla Cardona, also known as Sor Isolina Ferré Island, is a small, uninhabited island located 1.30 nautical miles south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Barrio Playa, on the west side of the entrance to the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The small island is considered part of barrio Playa. It is home to the 1889 Cardona Island Light, which is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Ratones, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Cardona is one of seven islands ascribed to the municipality of Ponce. The island gained notoriety in 2010 when the Puerto Rican Bird Society made it a target for the eradication of the black rat.
There were 2 female and 1 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included two athletes. Competitors from Puerto Rico won one bronze medal to finish 73rd in the medal table.
Raúl Martínez Colomer is a Puerto Rican swimmer. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's 200 metre freestyle, finishing in 38th place in the heats, failing to qualify for the semifinals.
Margaret Ann Steffens is an American water polo player. She won the gold medal with the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She ranks second on the all-time scoring list in Olympic history, with 38 goals.
Five athletes from Puerto Rico competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Puerto Rico competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016.
Puerto Rico competed at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. 9 competitors from Puerto Rico won no medals and so did not place in the medal table.
Puerto Rico competed at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea. 13 competitors from Puerto Rico won 3 medals including 1 gold and 2 silver and finished 36th in the medal table.