Guatemala wins first ever Olympic medal

On Saturday, Erick Barrondo won silver in  the 20-kilometer racewalk. Barrondo won the first Olympic medal for Guatemala, a country which has been participating in the Olympic Games since 1952 (must be another accomplishment from Arevalo and Arbenz to add to my class notes). Barrondo is from the Chiyuc aldea in San Cristobal, Verapaz.

On Friday, the New York Times ran a piece on why racewalking is so popular in Latin America.

Congratulations to Barrondo and to the people of Guatemala!