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 Dalia Contreras Taekwondo Women's 49 kgAugust 20
Archery
AthleteEventRanking roundRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / ScoreSeedOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankLeidys BritoWomen's individual62836 (29)W 104–98 (4)L 98–111Did not advance
Athletics
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 AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankJosé Acevedo200 m21.065Did not advanceLuis FonsecaMarathoncolspan=6 Edward Villanueva800 m1:47.646colspan=2 Did not advance
Women AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionMaría GonzálezJavelin throw50.5148Did not advance
Boxing
Venezuela qualified six boxers for the Olympic boxing tournament. Manzanilla and Blanco were the first to qualify, earning spots at the 2007 World Championships.World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007 Bermúdez, Sánchez, and González qualified at the first American qualifying tournament.1st AIBA American Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament Payares was the last to qualify, doing so at the second qualifier.2nd AIBA American Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament
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 won their bout.
AthleteEventRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankEduard BermúdezLight flyweightL 2–11Did not advanceHéctor ManzanillaBantamweightW 13–10W 17–6L 9–13Did not advanceJonny SánchezLight welterweightL 3–22Did not advanceAlfonso BlancoMiddleweightW 18–7L 1–11Did not advanceLuis GonzálezLight heavyweight L Did not advanceJosé PayaresSuper heavyweightL 5-7Did not advance
Canoeing
Sprint Both Venezuelan boats progressed to the semifinals, but finished last and did not advance to the final. AthleteEventHeatsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankJosé Giovanni RamosGabriel RodríguezMen's K-2 500 m1:34.2208 QS1:37.2859Did not advanceZulmarys SánchezWomen's K-1 500 m1:57.7287 QS2:02.7649Did not advance Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final
Cycling
Road The top finish from a Venezuelan road racer was the 30th place from Jackson Rodríguez in the men's race. Neither woman finished within ten minutes of the leader. AthleteEventTimeRankJackson RodríguezMen's road race6:26:1730Danielys GarcíaWomen's road race3:43:2554Angie González3:43:2557
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. AthleteEventSeedingQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalResultRankPointsRankPointsRankResultRankJonathan SuárezMen's BMX36.3258175Did not advance
Diving
Ramón Fumadó was in position to qualify for the semifinals after the first two dives, but fell behind and finished ten points short.
Men AthleteEventsPreliminariesSemifinalsFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankRamón Fumadó3 m springboard419.0521Did not advance
Equestrian
Show jumping AthleteHorseEventQualificationFinalTotalRound 1Round 2Round 3Round ARound BPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankPablo BarriosSinatraIndividual9=52142350 Q2043=44Did not advance43=44
Fencing
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 AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / Opposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreRankSilvio FernándezIndividual épéeW 15–11L 9–15Did not advanceRubén LimardoL 13–15Did not advanceWolfgang MejíasL 11–12Did not advanceSilvio FernándezFrancisco LimardoRubén LimardoWolfgang MejíasTeam épéecolspan=2 L 33–45Classification semi-final W 45–385th place final L 25–406Carlos BravoIndividual sabreL 10–15Did not advance
Women AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / Opposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreRankMaría MartínezIndividual épéeL 9–15Did not advanceMariana GonzálezIndividual foilL 2–15Did not advanceAlejandra BenítezIndividual sabreL 11–15Did not advance
Gymnastics
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 López did not advance to a final.
Men AthleteEventQualificationFinalApparatusTotalRankApparatusTotalRankJosé Luis FuentesAll-around14.15015.52514.85015.67515.37514.75090.32515 Q14.17513.65013.90015.25015.17514.15086.30022Pommel horse15.525colspan=4 15.5252 Q14.650colspan=4 14.6508
Women AthleteEventQualificationFinalApparatusTotalRankApparatusTotalRankJessica LópezAll-around13.45013.80014.37514.05056.17543Did not advance
Judo
Seven judokas represented Venezuela in Beijing, putting up an overall record of 6–10. None advanced 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 AthleteEventPreliminaryRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechage 1Repechage 2Repechage 3Final / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankJavier Guédez−60 kgW 1000–0000W 1000–0000L 0001–0010Did not advanceL 0000–1000Did not advanceLudwig Ortíz−66 kgL 0001–0010Did not advanceRichard Leon−73 kgL 0000–0001Did not advanceJosé Camacho−90 kgW 1000–0000L 0000–1000Did not advanceAlbenis Rosales−100 kgL 0001–1010Did not advance
Women AthleteEventRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechage 1Repechage 2Repechage 3Final / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankFlor Velázquez−52 kgL 0001–1000Did not advanceW 0001–0000L 0000–0010Did not advanceYsis Barreto−63 kgW 1012–0000L 0000–1000Did not advanceW 1001–0100L 0001–0030Did not advance
Rowing
Venezuela had qualified 1 boat in rowing.
Men AthleteEventHeatsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankDhiso HernándezSingle sculls7:54.525 SE/Fcolspan=2 7:18.851 FE7:05.1227 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
None of the three Venezuelan boats participating in Olympic sailing in Beijing qualified for a medal race, with the top finish being 26th from Johnny Bilbao in the Finn class.
Men AthleteEventRaceNet pointsFinal rank12345678910M*Carlos Julio FloresRS:X32333335212227282214EL23229José Miguel RuizLaser394023294029333224CANEL24939
Open AthleteEventRaceNet pointsFinal rank12345678910M*Jhonny BilbaoFinn2612252326252018CANCANEL17526 M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled;
Shooting
Women AthleteEventQualificationFinalPointsRankPointsRankDiliana Méndez10 m air rifle38643Did not advance50 m rifle 3 positions56839Did not advance
Softball
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 Mayles Rodríguez Rubilena Rojas Yaciey Sojo Yurubi Alicart Yusmary Pérez Zuleyma Cirimele Maribel Riera Mariangee Bogado Bheiglys Mujica
Results TeamWLRSRAWIN%GBTiebreaker705311.000--612313.8571-523011.7142-341723.4294-251023.2865 2-0 vs. CHN/VEN251921.2865 1-1 vs. TPE/VEN251535.2865 0-2 vs. CHN/TPE16848.1436-
Swimming
Venezuela sent a thirteen-person swimming team to compete in eighteen events in Beijing. In the pool, only two progressed 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 AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankCrox Acuña200 m freestyle1:50.5242Did not advanceOctavio Alesi100 m butterfly53.5838Did not advanceLeopoldo Andara200 m breaststroke2:17.7750Did not advance200 m individual medley2:05.7143Did not advanceJonathan Camacho50 m freestyle22.8747Did not advanceErwin Maldonado10 km open watercolspan=4 1:52:13.610Alexis Márquez200 m butterfly2:01.2536Did not advanceRicardo Monasterio1500 m freestyle15:45.9835colspan=2 Did not advanceAlbert Subirats100 m freestyle48.9721Did not advance100 m butterfly51.718 Q51.8211Did not advanceDaniele Tirabassi400 m freestyle3:53.2631colspan=2 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 AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankAndreína Pinto800 m freestyle8:30:3024colspan=2 Did not advance10 km open watercolspan=4 1:59:40.09Yanel Pinto400 m freestyle4:18.0932colspan=2 Did not advanceArlene Semeco50 m freestyle24.9810 Q25.0515Did not advance100 m freestyle55.7030Did not advanceErin Volcán100 m backstroke1:03.9042Did not advance200 m backstroke2:15.5832Did 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
Fabiola Ramos won her preliminary round match, but lost to a North Korean opponent in the first round.
AthleteEventPreliminary roundRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankFabiola RamosWomen's singlesW 4–1L 0–4Did not advance
Taekwondo