Final! Luis Grijalva is making history and will fight for the medal in the 5000m dash

The Guatemalan athlete makes his Olympic debut and advances to the 5000m final

Tokyo, Japan – Time 13:34.11, Guatemalan athlete Louis Grijalva He completed Series 2 of the 5,000-meter dash at Olympic Stadium and placed 10th in his heat qualifying, Qualified for the Grand Final Exam To fight for event medals.

The 22-year-old is making his Olympic debut and at the first intervention, he made history for esports in Guatemala and Central America by qualifying for the final. Grijalva got the ticket by being 10th in the heat, however, for being one of the best times on record, he advanced to the final with 15 other athletes.

Louis Grijalva He took the protagonist from the start of the competition to be in the top positions of the group, as the test developed, he was potting his forces and was on the last ring road when he managed to regain his positions and reached the finish line with a big closing time of 13:34.11.

will be next Friday, August 6, 6:00 a.m. (Guatemala time) When the final match of the fight for medals is played in the Olympic event.

According to the official Olympic record, there are 16 athletes ranked in the final to fight for medals: Luis Grijalva (Guatemala), Justin Knight (Canada), Kipcurer Kemili (Kenya), William Kincaid (USA), Muhammad Katir. (Spain), Mohamed Ahmed (Canada), Dawit Fikadu (Bahrain), Jacob Kiplemo (Uganda), Jimmy Gresser (France), Berhanu Palio (Bahrain), Paul Chelemo (US), Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda), Melexa Mingisha ( Ethiopia), Grant Fisher (USA), and Andrew Butchart (Great Britain).

Luis Grijalva goes to the final 5000 meters! 🔥🇬🇹

The Guatemalan athlete put in an amazing performance and set a time of 13:34.11.

➡️ The final takes place on Friday 6 August at 6:00 in Guatemala. #PassionForGuatemala #OurMetaLosValores pic.twitter.com/xk24kMzInV

– COG (COGuatemalteco) August 3, 2021

grigalva He earned his qualifications for Olympic designation in the Oregon event corresponding to this year’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with a time of 13:13.14 minutes in the 5,000m. A record that allows you to take the national record, becoming the best advocate in the Guatemalan category.

The Guatemalan athlete, who immigrated with his parents to the United States, is part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which had to request special permission to be able to leave North American territory and travel to Tokyo to represent Guatemala at the Olympic Games. It was attorney Jessica Smith Bobadilla who helped the Guatemalan athlete obtain proper permission to leave the United States to compete in Tokyo.