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The first week (August 10 - 16) of competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympics saw some encouraging efforts by Peruvian athletes but no medals. Here is a roundup of how Peru's 13-member Olympic delegation has performed so far, along with buzz about the athletes from English-speaking media, bloggers and fans. (Plus blog reactions by Peru athletes like Peter Lopez, who posted the photo above on his Olympic blog "Camino a la Gloria" (Road to Glory) on Monday, Aug. 11.)

SIXTO BARRERA / WRESTLING 

Wrestler Sixto Barrera, considered by many to be Peru's best chance for a medal, got off to a strong start on Tuesday (Aug. 12), when he trounced the world's third-ranked Valdemaras Venckaitis of Lithuania, 3-1, in the first round of Men's Greco-Roman 74 k. That victory propelled him to the quarter finals against China's Chang Yongxiang, who turned the tables on Barrera, beating him 3-1. Barrera told RPP reporters in Beijing that his elbow was badly hurt in the match when Chang applied an "improper hold." Injured and in pain, Barrera suffered a total defeat to Bulgaria's Yavor Yanakiev in the Round 2 Repechage (score: 3-0). Yanakiev, the 2007 world champion, went on to win the Olympic bronze medal on Wedesday (Aug. 13), Chang won the silver. Georgia's Manuchar Kvirkelia won his country's first wrestling gold.

BUZZ ABOUT BARRERA

Sixto Barrera drew cheers from fans in Bird's Nest Stadium and Peruvian viewers around the world when he carried Peru's flag in the opening ceremonies on Saturday (Aug. 9). Barrera told reporters that the experience was "a dream come true." Barrera's life story drew attention from reporters and bloggers in Peru and the United States. Blogger CarlosQC from Washington, DC (who also scribes as Peruanista) highlighted Barrera's challenges as an Afro-Peruvian confronting racism and lack of support in his native country. An American in Lima explored the wrestler's spiritual faith and admiration for San Martin de Porres, the first black saint of the Americas.

CLAUDIA RIVERO / BADMINTON

 Claudia Rivero, Peru's top-ranked badminton player, lost in Women's Singles to France's Pi Hongyan 2 - 0 (21-6 and 21-6), on Sunday (Aug. 10). That defeat made Rivero ineligible for further competition at the Games. Gold and Silver in Women's Singles Badminton went to Zhang Ning and Zie Xingfang, both of China; Maria Kristin Yulianti, of Indonesia, won the Bronze on Saturday, August 16.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ….

The 21-year-old Rivero trained for the games in Germany, thanks to an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship sponsored by the Badminton World Federation. Rivero blogged for CNN about her preparations for the Olympics (See Athlete's Blog: Claudia Rivero). Male admirers confessed to "falling in love" with Rivero on the Discussion Board at BadmintonCentral.com.

VALERIA SILVA / SWIMMING

Swimmer Valeria Silva finished 38th in the preliminaries of the 100-meter breaststroke with a personal-best time of 1:11.64 but did not advance. Australia's Leisel Jones won the gold in women's 100-meter breaststroke on Tuesday, August 12. Rebecca Soni (USA) and Mirna Jukic (Austria) won silver and bronze, respectively.

BUZZ ABOUT SILVA

A senior at University of Michigan, Silva competes for the UMich swim team along with Olympic god (we can call him that now) Michael Phelps. Silva's academic major is Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science. She attended Lima's Humbolt school.

EMMANUEL JOSE CRESCIMBENI / SWIMMING

Eighteen-year-old swimmer Emmanuel José Crescimbeni finished 41^st in the preliminaries of the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:02:13 but did not advance. Gold in the men's 200-meter butterfly went to Michael Phelps (USA), Silver to Laszlo Cseh (Hungary) and Bronze to Takeshi Matsuda (Japan), on Wednesday, August 13.

BUZZ ON EMMAN

Crescimbeni, known as "Emman" to his friends, attends Calvary Christian School in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has dual U.S./Peruvian citizenship. His parents are from Callao. He will attend the University of Florida next year. An in-depth profile of "the fastest swimmer you've never heard of" (to quote Crescimbeni's coach) ran in the Oct. 27, 2007, St. Petersburg Times ("Looking Back, Swimmer's Talent Couldn't Be Ignored").

MARIA LUISA DOIG / FENCING

In Women's Individual Foil fencer Maria Luisa Doig crossed swords last Sunday (Aug. 10) with Germany's Katja Waechter, who beat her 4-15. Italians Maria Valentina Vezzali and Margherita Granbassi won Gold and Bronze, respectively. Korea's Nam Hyunhee took the Silver.

MORE ABOUT DOIG

At 16 years old, Doig is Peru's youngest delegate to the Beijing games.  A widely publicized APF/Getty photo of Doig reacting to her loss against Waechter ran in USA Today and countless online sites.

PALOMA SCHMIDT / SAILING

Hard-working sailor Paloma Schmidt, who represents Peru in Laser Radial – One-person Dinghy, has competed in five races since Tuesday, August 12, and is schedule to sail in an additional five races on Sunday, August 17 and Monday, August 18, before the medal-winners are decided. Schmidt ranked No. 9 after her first race, then fell to 28 in race 4, before climbing to No. 14 in her latest race. Schmidt's individual race rankings are: 9 (Race 1), 26 (Race 2), 27 (Race 3), 28 (Race 4) and 14 (Race 5). The Olympics' sailing events take place in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao.

BIRD BUZZ

Schmidt trains at Yacht Club Peruano, in La Punta, Callao, notes her sailor bio on ISAF. Her nickname is "Bird," in reference to her first name, which means "dove" in Spanish. Visit Schmidt's personal blog "Sailor Bird" (written in Spanish) to read about her preparations for the Olympics.

CARLOS ZEGARRA / JUDO

The "Peruvian giant" Carlos Zegarra competed in Men's Judo +100 kg on Friday, August 15, in USTB Gymnasium. Zegarra beat Argentina's Sandro Lopez in the 2:17 min. preliminary bout with a side four-corner hold. Less than an hour later, he lost to Cuba's Oscar Brayson and then to Lebanon's Rudy Hachache in Repechage, thus ending his chances for a medal. Medallists in Men's Judo +100 kg were Satoshi Ishii of Japan (Gold), Abdullo Tangriev of Uzbekistan (Silver) and Oscar Brayson of Cuba and Teddy Riner of France (sharing Bronze).

ZEGARRA FACTOIDS

• Height: 6'8" tall
• Weight: 352 pounds
• Occupation: Security guard
• Favorite food: fried calamari
• Nickname: Chiquito

MARCO MATELLINI / SHOOTING

Skeet shooter Marco Matellini got off to a disappointing start on Friday, August 15, finishing last in a field of 41 competitors. He moved up one notch to 40^th place on Saturday, August 16.

PERUVIANS DO KNOW HOW TO SHOOT

A photo of Matellini blowing into the barrel of his gun was featured in USA Today. Shooting is the one sport in which Peru has won Olympic gold. Peruvian Edward Vasquez Cam won the gold in Men's Free Pistol in 1946. More recently, Peru won silver medals in Trap Shooting (Francisco Boza, 1984) and Skeet Shooting (Juan Giha, 1992).

CRISTINA CORNEJO / WEIGHTLIFTING

Cornejo competes in Olympics +75 kg 1 Peru's powerful 22-year-old female weightlifter Cristina Cornejo went up against the big girls Saturday, August 16, in the +75 kg category. Cornejo finished 10^th, tied with Eva Dimas of El Salvador. Cornejo lifted 97 kg in the Snatch, compared to first-place winner Jang Miran of Korea, who set new Olympic and World records with her 140-kg hoist that night. In the Clean & Jerk, Cornejo lifted 128 kg, nearly 60 kg below Miran's Olympic and World record-breaking lifts of 183 kg. and 186 kg. Cornejo took part in what will be remembered as a historic night in women's weightlifting. In Women's 75+ kg. Weightlifting, Miran took home the Gold for Korea, Olha Korobka took Silver for the Ukraine, and Mariya Grabovetskaya won Bronze for Kazakhstan.

THE CAMERA LOVES YOU, CRISTINA!

I love these APF/Getty images of Cornejo at Saturday's competition. This girl is mighty, mighty!   [caption id="attachment_339" align="alignleft" width="184" caption="Cristina Cornejo reacts after failing a lift in Beijing Olympics"][/caption]  

LOUIS TRISTAN / LONG JUMP

In the Men's Long Jump qualifying round, held Saturday, August 16, 24-year-old Peruvian jumper Louis Tristan finished 32^nd out of 38 with a leap of 7.62 meters. That distance failed to qualify Tristan for the Long Jump final round.

THE BUZZ

Tristan was born in Lima and now lives and trains in Brazil. In a recent interview with Peruanista, he mentioned his frustration with the lack of support given to him, and other top athletes, by the Peruvian government and national sports federation.

MARIA PORTILLA / RUNNING

Runner Maria Portilla will compete in the Women's Marathon this Sunday, August 17, at 7:30 p.m., in National Stadium. Portilla will battle a strong field that includes world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya and Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain, who is the world record holder. Radcliffe joined the British team at the last minute before the Games, after having recovered from a stress fracture.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT PORTILLA

Born and raised in Peru's high Andes, 36-year-old Portilla began running in marathons eleven years ago, when she was in danger of failing a physical education exam for a teaching degree she was seeking. Her athletic abilities exceeded everyone's expectations, particularly since she ran her first races barefoot. "I didn't have money for trainers [athletic shoes]," she told a reporter for Reuters. "I ran in my bare feet. People started giving me trainers; that gave me the inspiration to continue," she says. Click here for Reuters' one-minute video interview with Peru's "unlikely marathoner."

PETER LOPEZ / TAEKWONDO

Medal hopes are riding on Peter López, who competes Thursday, August 21, in preliminaries for Men's Taekwondo 68 kg (featherweight).

MUCHO BUZZ ABOUT LOPEZ

Taekwondo insiders are eagerly anticipating a possible match-up between Peru's Peter López and USA's Mark López, who have trained with the same coaches. López is the American-born son of Peruvian parents, who raised him in Peru and the United States. Since the year 2000, he has trained at the prestigious Elite Tae Kwon Do club, in Houston, Texas, alongside world and Olympic champions. He is a six-time U.S. National Team member and a 4-time competing member for the Peruvian Taekwondo Federation. He is the first taekwondo athlete ever to represent Peru in the Olympics. According to one report, López receives US$2,000 per month for training from the Peru Taekwondo Federation. This contrasts with the situation of other members of the Peru Olympics delegation, who receive little to no support from their respective sports organizations in Peru (if such institutions exist at all). López blogs on his Olympic experience for Lenovo's "Voices of the Olympics" blog. Click here for Peter's own photos of his fellow Olympians doing everyday stuff in Beijing, like eating in the Olympic cafeteria, working out in the gym and getting a haircut. Click here for a short BBC article on López ("Peter Lopez: Going for the Gold") that includes a photo diary of his journey to the Olympics.