Yaniel Velázquez Garcia (born 12 July 1987 in Havana) is a Cuban modern pentathlete.[1] He won a silver medal for the men's event at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which earned him a qualifying place for the Olympics, with an impressive score of 5,344 points.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Yaniel Velázquez Garcia |
| Nationality |  Cuba |
| Born | 12 July 1987 Havana, Cuba |
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Modern pentathlon |
| Coached by | Alejandro Guarch, Wilfredo Moreno Matos |
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Velazquez became the nation's first pentathlete to compete in the men's event. During the competition, he made a strong start in the early segments, but struggled to maintain his position in the entire event, when he set the slowest time of 2:16.38 in freestyle swimming. He managed to attain fair scores for horse riding and cross-country running; however, these were insufficient for him to place near the top, placing fifteenth out of thirty-six competitors in the men's event, with a total score of 5,292 points.[3]
References edit
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Yaniel Velázquez". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ Hipps, Tim (2 August 2007). "Air Force officer strikes gold, Soldier sixth in Pan Am pentathlon". Ft. Meade Soundoff. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ "Modern Pentathlon – Men's Event". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
External links edit
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