Paraguay wins first medal in Swimming at Pan American Games
Benjamin Hockin Made History
Paraguay wins first medal in Swimming at Pan American Games
City: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Date: 2011-10-18
On the fourth day of competitions at the Scotiabank Aquatics Center, swimmer Benjamin Hockin won the bronze medal in Men's 200m Freestyle, the first one in the history of Paraguay.
Sixteen years ago Paraguay won their last medal in Pan American Games. However, yesterday Esteban Casarino and Nicolas Caballero won the bronze in Squash Doubles. The victory of Benjamin Hockin in Swimming is even more celebrated as Paraguay had never won a medal in this discipline before.
The last time Paraguay won a medal was in the 1995 Pan American Games held in Mar del Plata where they won a silver and a bronze medal. This is an important fact that Benjamin Hockin kept in mind: "I am really proud, it's the first medal for Paraguay in swimming at Pan American Games. I am honored to represent my beloved country. Yesterday, my compatriots (in Squash) gave Paraguay reason to celebrate and today it was my turn", he excitedly commented.
Also, he indicated he is conscious that the number of medals they have won for Paraguay is far below the number they expected, "To me it's a bronze that tastes like gold. The last medals won came we sixteen years ago in Argentina. I still have an Individual and Relay competition so Paraguay still has possibilities of celebrating in Guadalajara", he declared.
