Venezuela at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Venezuela competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics which was held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Bronze	Dalia Contreras	Taekwondo	Women's 49 kg	August 20

Archery

Main article: Archery at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Ranking round		Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Score	Seed	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Leidys Brito	Women's individual	628	36	Wu H-J (TPE) (29) W 104–98	Narimanidze (GEO) (4) L 98–111	Did not advance

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
José Acevedo	200 m	21.06	5	Did not advance
Luis Fonseca	Marathon	—						DNF
Edward Villanueva	800 m	1:47.64	6	—		Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
María González	Javelin throw	50.51	48	Did not advance

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Venezuela qualified six boxers for the Olympic boxing tournament. Manzanilla and Blanco were the first to qualify, earning spots at the 2007 World Championships. Bermúdez, Sánchez, and González qualified at the first American qualifying tournament. Payares was the last to qualify, doing so at the second qualifier.

The team's record in Beijing was 3-6, with only Héctor Manzanilla winning more than one bout. Both Manzanilla and Alfonso Blanco made the quarterfinals, but neither managed to win their bout.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Eduard Bermúdez	Light flyweight	Zou (CHN) L 2–11	Did not advance
Héctor Manzanilla	Bantamweight	I Samir (GHA) W 13–10	Han S-C (KOR) W 17–6	Julie (MRI) L 9–13	Did not advance
Jonny Sánchez	Light welterweight	Bye	Sapiyev (KAZ) L 3–22	Did not advance
Alfonso Blanco	Middleweight	Bye	Casimiro (DOM) W 18–7	Sutherland (IRL) L 1–11	Did not advance
Luis González	Light heavyweight	Bye	Szellő (HUN) L RSC	Did not advance
José Payares	Super heavyweight	—	Ouatah (ALG) L 5-7	Did not advance

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Sprint

Both Venezuelan boats progressed to the semifinals, but finished last and did not advance to the final.

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
José Giovanni Ramos Gabriel Rodríguez	Men's K-2 500 m	1:34.220	8 QS	1:37.285	9	Did not advance
Zulmarys Sánchez	Women's K-1 500 m	1:57.728	7 QS	2:02.764	9	Did not advance

Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Road

The top finish from a Venezuelan road racer was the 30th place from Jackson Rodríguez in the men's race. Neither woman managed to finish within ten minutes of the leader.

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Jackson Rodríguez	Men's road race	6:26:17	30
Danielys García	Women's road race	3:43:25	54
Angie González		3:43:25	57

BMX

Venezuela sent former cruiser (22") world champion Jonathan Suárez to compete in BMX. He finished 8th in seeding, but finished 8th in the first of three quarterfinal races and could not advance.

Athlete	Event	Seeding		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Result	Rank
Jonathan Suárez	Men's BMX	36.325	8	17	5	Did not advance

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Ramón Fumadó was in position to qualify for the semifinals after the first two dives, but fell behind and finished ten points short.

Men

Athlete	Events	Preliminaries		Semifinals		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Ramón Fumadó	3 m springboard	419.05	21	Did not advance

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Show jumping

Athlete	Horse	Event	Qualification								Final					Total
			Round 1		Round 2			Round 3			Round A		Round B
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Pablo Barrios	Sinatra	Individual	9	=52	14	23	50 Q	20	43	=44	Did not advance					43	=44

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Venezuela sent a seven-person fencing team to Beijing, but they combined to win just two matches. Considering the team included the #1 ranked men's épée fencer, Silvio Fernández, this was somewhat of a disappointment. Fernandez won his opening match, but then lost to a Hungarian opponent in the second round. The other win came from the men's épée team, who lost their quarterfinal, but won a placement match against Korea before ending up in 6th place overall.

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Silvio Fernández	Individual épée	Bye	Inostroza (CHI) W 15–11	Boczko (HUN) L 9–15	Did not advance
Rubén Limardo		Bye	Chumak (UKR) L 13–15	Did not advance
Wolfgang Mejías		Torkildsen (NOR) L 11–12	Did not advance
Silvio Fernández Francisco Limardo Rubén Limardo Wolfgang Mejías	Team épée	—		Bye	France (FRA) L 33–45	Classification semi-final  South Korea (KOR) W 45–38	5th place final  Hungary (HUN) L 25–40	6
Carlos Bravo	Individual sabre	Koniusz (POL) L 10–15	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
María Martínez	Individual épée	—	Lamon (SUI) L 9–15	Did not advance
Mariana González	Individual foil	Bye	Varga (HUN) L 2–15	Did not advance
Alejandra Benitez	Individual sabre	Bye	Jóźwiak (POL) L 11–15	Did not advance

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Artistic

Venezuela sent two gymnasts to Beijing, with José Luis Fuentes managing to make the final in both the men's all-around and pommel horse events. Fuentes finished last of the finalists in the pommel horse final and 22nd of 24 in the all-around final. Jessica Lopez did not advance to a final.

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification								Final
		Apparatus						Total	Rank	Apparatus						Total	Rank
		F	PH	R	V	PB	HB			F	PH	R	V	PB	HB
José Luis Fuentes	All-around	14.150	15.525	14.850	15.675	15.375	14.750	90.325	15 Q	14.175	13.650	13.900	15.250	15.175	14.150	86.300	22
	Pommel horse	—	15.525	—				15.525	2 Q	—	14.650	—				14.650	8

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		F	V	UB	BB			F	V	UB	BB
Jessica López	All-around	13.450	13.800	14.375	14.050	56.175	43	Did not advance

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Seven judokas represented Venezuela in Beijing, putting up an overall record of 6-10. None managed to advance beyond the quarterfinals in the main draw, and only Flor Velázquez progressed to the repechage semifinals, but lost to a Kazakhstani opponent, falling one bout short of a chance at a medal.

Men

Athlete	Event	Preliminary	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Javier Guédez	−60 kg	Bye	Techov (LTU) W 1000–0000	Williams-Murray (USA) W 1000–0000	Houkes (NED) L 0001–0010	Did not advance	Bye	Will (CAN) L 0000–1000	Did not advance
Ludwig Ortíz	−66 kg	Dias (POR) L 0001–0010	Did not advance
Richard Leon	−73 kg	—	Si Rg (CHN) L 0000–0001	Did not advance
José Camacho	−90 kg	—	Grekov (UKR) W 1000–0000	Santos (BRA) L 0000–1000	Did not advance
Albenis Rosales	−100 kg	—	Jang S-H (KOR) L 0001–1010	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Flor Velázquez	−52 kg	An K-A (PRK) L 0001–1000	Did not advance			Mestre (CUB) W 0001–0000	Kaliyeva (KAZ) L 0000–0010	Did not advance
Ysis Barreto	−63 kg	Hane (SEN) W 1012–0000	Tanimoto (JPN) L 0000–1000	Did not advance		Bye	Kong J-Y (KOR) W 1001–0100	Heill (AUT) L 0001–0030	Did not advance

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Venezuela had qualified 1 boat in rowing.

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Dhiso Hernández	Single sculls	7:54.52	5 SE/F	Bye		7:18.85	1 FE	7:05.12	27

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

None of the three Venezuelan boats participating in Olympic sailing in Beijing managed to qualify for a medal race, with the top finish being 26th from Johnny Bilbao in the Finn class.

Men

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Carlos Flores	RS:X	32	33	33	35	21	22	27	28	22	14	EL	232	29
José Miguel Ruiz	Laser	39	40	23	29	40	29	33	32	24	CAN	EL	249	39

Open

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Johnny Bilbao	Finn	26	12	25	23	26	25	20	18	CAN	CAN	EL	175	26

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled;

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Diliana Méndez	10 m air rifle	386	43	Did not advance
	50 m rifle 3 positions	568	39	Did not advance

Softball

Main article: Softball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The Venezuelan women's softball team qualified for the Olympics by winning the Pan-American qualifying tournament at home Valencia. At the Olympics, they initially struggled, losing their first three games by a combined score of 21-1, but then won two straight games without conceding a run, leaving them at 2-3 and in the hunt for a medal round place. However, they lost two difficult matches against eventual medal winners to close out the round robin, and fell one loss short of a medal round spot.

Team roster

• Denisse Fuenmayor
• Geraldine Puertas
• Jineth Pimentel
• Johana Gómez
• María Soto
• Marianella Castellanos
• Maules Rodríguez
• Mileinis Graterol
• Rubelina Rojas
• Yaicel Sojo
• Yurubi Alicart
• Yusmari Pérez
• Zuleima Cirimelle

Results

Team	W	L	RS	RA	WIN%	GB	Tiebreaker
United States	7	0	53	1	1.000	-	-
Japan	6	1	23	13	.857	1	-
Australia	5	2	30	11	.714	2	-
Canada	3	4	17	23	.429	4	-
Chinese Taipei	2	5	10	23	.286	5	2-0 vs. CHN/VEN
China	2	5	19	21	.286	5	1-1 vs. TPE/VEN
Venezuela	2	5	15	35	.286	5	0-2 vs. CHN/TPE
Netherlands	1	6	8	48	.143	6	-

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
United States	0	4	2	5	0	X	X	11	11	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	X	X	0	0	2
WP: Jennie Finch(1-0)   LP: Johana Gómez(0-1) Home runs: USA: Natasha Watley(1), Caitlin Lowe(1), Crystl Bustos(1) VEN: None

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
China	1	0	1	0	3	1	1	7	10	1
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	0
WP: Wei Lu(1-0)   LP: Mariangee Bogado(0-1) Home runs: CHN: Yanhong Yu(1) VEN: None

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Chinese Taipei	2	0	0	1	0	0	X	3	6	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2
WP: Chia-Yen Wu(1-1)   LP: Johana Gómez(0-2) Home runs: TPE: Hsueh-Mei Lu(1) VEN: None

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Venezuela	3	3	0	2	X	X	X	8	7	0
Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	X	X	0	1	0
WP: Mariangee Bogado(1-1)   LP: Kristi de Varies(0-3)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	4	0
Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
WP: Mariangee Bogado(2-1)   LP: Danielle Lawrie(1-1) Home runs: VEN: Yuruby Alicart(1) CAN: None

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	7	0
Japan	0	0	0	1	4	0	X	5	9	0
WP: Hiroko Sakai(3-0)   LP: Mariangee Bogado(2-2) Home runs: VEN: None JPN: Satoko Mabuchi(3), Eri Yamada (1)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	2	X	X	2	1	0
Australia	4	1	0	4	0	X	X	9	8	0
WP: Justine Smethurst(2-0)   LP: Mariangee Bogado(2-3) Home runs: VEN: None AUS: Danielle Stewart(1)

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Venezuela sent a thirteen-person swimming team to compete in eighteen events in Beijing. In the pool, only two managed to progress to a semifinal, and none made a final. The best finishes for the team came in the two open water events, as Erwin Maldonado finished 10th in the men's race, and Andreina Pinto finished 9th in the women's race.

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Crox Acuña	200 m freestyle	1:50.52	42	Did not advance
Octavio Alesi	100 m butterfly	53.58	38	Did not advance
Leopoldo Andara	200 m breaststroke	2:17.77	50	Did not advance
	200 m individual medley	2:05.71	43	Did not advance
Jonathan Camacho	50 m freestyle	22.87	47	Did not advance
Erwin Maldonado	10 km open water	—				1:52:13.6	10
Alexis Márquez	200 m butterfly	2:01.25	36	Did not advance
Ricardo Monasterio	1500 m freestyle	15:45.98	35	—		Did not advance
Albert Subirats	100 m freestyle	48.97	21	Did not advance
	100 m butterfly	51.71	8 Q	51.82	11	Did not advance
Daniele Tirabassi	400 m freestyle	3:53.26	31	—		Did not advance

Qualifiers for the latter rounds of all events are decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Andreína Pinto	800 m freestyle	8:30:30	24	—		Did not advance
	10 km open water	—				1:59:40.0	9
Yanel Pinto	400 m freestyle	4:18.09	32	—		Did not advance
Arlene Semeco	50 m freestyle	24.98	10 Q	25.05	15	Did not advance
	100 m freestyle	55.70	30	Did not advance
Erin Volcán	100 m backstroke	1:03.90	42	Did not advance
	200 m backstroke	2:15.58	32	Did not advance

Qualifiers for the latter rounds of all events are decided on a time only basis, therefore positions shown are overall results versus competitors in all heats.

Table tennis

Main article: Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Fabiola Ramos won her preliminary round match, but lost to a North Korean opponent in the first round.

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Fabiola Ramos	Women's singles	Long (CAN) W 4–1	Kim J (PRK) L 0–4	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Venezuela won their first Olympic medal in Taekwondo in Athens, and though Adriana Carmona, who won that medal, lost her first round match in Beijing, Venezuela was able to win another medal in 2008. Dalia Contreras won her first two matches to make the semifinals in the women's under 49 kg division, where she lost a tied match on a judges decision. Still, her semifinals appearance allowed her to progress directly to the bronze medal match, where she beat a Kenyan opponent to claim Venezuela's only medal of the 2008 Games. Overall, the four person Taekwondo team went 4-4, with three of the four wins from Contreras.

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Bronze Medal	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Carlos Vásquez	Men's −80 kg	Baguissi (GAB) W 5–0	Cook (GBR) L 2–5	Did not advance
Juan Díaz	Men's +80 kg	Zrouri (MAR) L KO	Did not advance
Dalia Contreras	Women's −49 kg	Gülec (GER) W 4–2	Craig (USA) W 3–2	Puedpong (THA) L 2–2 SUP	Bye	Alango (KEN) W 2–0	Did not advance
Adriana Carmona	Women's +67 kg	Chen Z (CHN) L 1–3	Did not advance

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Milagros Sequera was trailing by a set and a game when she retired from her first round match.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Milagros Sequera	Women's singles	Bondarenko (UKR) L 3–6, 0–1r	Did not advance

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Indoor

Both Venezuelan volleyball teams won the South American Qualification tournament to earn their Olympic berths, but were less successful in Beijing. Between them, the two teams won just one out of ten matches, with the men's team beating Japan in straight sets. The men's team also managed to force a fifth set against both the American and Chinese teams, eventually finishing fifth in their group, while the women's team won only a single set and finished last in their group. The final ranking of the men's team was tied for 9th place, while that of the women's team was tied for 11th place.

Men's tournament

Main article: Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

Roster

Group play

Template:2008 Summer Olympics men's volleyball group A standings All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8). Template:2008 Summer Olympics men's volleyball game A2 Template:2008 Summer Olympics men's volleyball game A5 Template:2008 Summer Olympics men's volleyball game A7 Template:2008 Summer Olympics men's volleyball game A12 Template:2008 Summer Olympics men's volleyball game A13

Women's tournament

Main article: Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

Roster

Group play

Template:2008 Summer Olympics women's volleyball group A standings All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8). Template:2008 Summer Olympics women's volleyball game A2 Template:2008 Summer Olympics women's volleyball game A6 Template:2008 Summer Olympics women's volleyball game A7 Template:2008 Summer Olympics women's volleyball game A10 Template:2008 Summer Olympics women's volleyball game A13

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The top finish from a Venezuelan lifter in Beijing was a 9th from Judith Chacon in the 53 kg division, but this was last placed finish in a division with few entrants. The next best finish came from Israel José Rubio in the men's 69 kg division, where he finished 13th. Three of the seven Venezuelan lifters did not complete a valid lift in one of the portions of the competition, and thus did not finish with a legal total.

Men

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Israel José Rubio	−69 kg	139	10	167	12	306	13
José Ocando	−77 kg	140	19	182	15	322	17
Octavio Mejías		140	13	185	DNF	140	DNF
Herbys Márquez	−85 kg	152	DNF	—	—	—	DNF

Women

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Judith Chacón	−53 kg	80	9	101	9	181	9
Solenny Villasmil	−63 kg	90	12	115	13	205	13
Iriner Jiménez	−69 kg	90	8	120	DNF	90	DNF

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The three Venezuelan wrestlers combined for a record of 0-4, with Luis Vivénez qualifying for the repechage, but losing his match to a Cuban athlete.

Key:

• VT - Victory by Fall.
• PP - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
• PO - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.

Men's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Qualification	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Luis Vivénes	−96 kg	Bye	Tigiyev (KAZ) L 0–3 PO	Did not advance		Bye	Batista (CUB) L 1–3 PP	Did not advance	15

Women's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Qualification	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Mayelis Caripá	−48 kg	Boubryemm (FRA) L 0–3 PO	Did not advance						14
Marcia Andrades	−55 kg	—	Cristea (MDA) L 1–3 PP	Did not advance					11

See also

• Venezuela at the 2007 Pan American Games
• Venezuela at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games

References

List of qualified athletes (Spanish)