Constantino Leon Last Olympian to Compete for Peru; Peter Lopez Misses Bronze in Taekwondo

Peru’s original field of 13 Olympic contenders is now down to one athlete: marathon runner Constantino Leon.

Leon will compete Saturday, August 23, starting at 6:30 p.m. (Beijing time), in the Men’s Marathon. For fans in Peru, that translates to Sunday, August 24, starting at 7:30 a.m.

Thus far, no athletes representing Peru have won a medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Constantino became Peru’s last Olympic contender after taekwondo athlete Peter Lopez failed to secure the bronze in the Men’s 68 kg. competition on Thursday, August 21.

Lopez was victorious in his first two matches on Thursday, beating Australia’s Burak Hasan 3-1 in the preliminaries and Nigeria’s Isah Adam Mohammad 3-0 in the quarter finals.

He advanced the semi-finals where he was defeated by USA’s Mark Lopez (no relation) 2-1. The two Lopezes were training partners at Elite taekwondo center in Houston.

A subsequent match between Peter Lopez and Servet Tazegul, of Turkey, saw Peru’s chances at a bronze dashed with Tazegul beat Lopez 1-0.

Korea’s Son Taejin won gold and USA’s Mark Lopez won silver in the event. The bronze medal was shared by Tazegul and Chinese Taipai’s Sung Yu-Chi.

For other reports from An American in Lima on Peru’s Olympic athletes, see:

Keeping Up with Peru’s Olympians (Aug. 11, 2008)

Trying to Watch the Olympics in Peru (Aug. 11, 2008)

 “Sixto Barrera Wants to Win Medal for Peru, Self & God” (Aug. 12, 2008)

Sixto Barrera Advances to Quarter Finals, Loses to China’s Chang Yongxiang (Aug. 12, 2008)

Peru’s Olympians, Part II (Aug. 13, 2008)

Peru’s Olympic 13 Are a Horde Compared To… (Aug. 13, 2008)

The Buzz on Peru’s Olympians: Week 1 in Review (Aug. 16, 2008)

Maria Portilla: I Am Thrilled to Have Given My All in Beijing (Aug. 19, 2008)