Melvin Méndez

Melvin Méndez Acevedo (born November 17, 1974 in Aguada) is a Puerto Rican judoka who competed in the men's half-lightweight category.[1] He picked up a bronze medal in the 66-kg division at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayagüez, attained a fifth-place finish at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and represented his nation Puerto Rico in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004).[2][3]

Melvin Méndez
Personal information
Full nameMelvin Méndez Acevedo
Nationality Puerto Rico
Born (1974-11-17) 17 November 1974
Aguada, Puerto Rico
Height1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportJudo
Event(s)66 kg
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing  Puerto Rico
Central American and Caribbean Games
Bronze medal – third place2010 Mayagüez 66 kg

Mendez made his official debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he competed in the men's 60-kg class. He was defeated by an ippon and a kata guruma (shoulder wheel) from Mongolian judoka and eventual bronze medalist Dorjpalamyn Narmandakh in his opening match. Mendez gave himself a chance for an Olympic bronze medal through the repechage, but crashed out immediately in another ippon defeat to Great Britain's Nigel Donohue with only 20 seconds remaining.[4][5]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Mendez suffered a one-arm shoulder throw (ippon seoi nage) defeat at the hands of Italy's Girolamo Giovinazzo in the men's 66-kg opening match.[6] In the repechage, Mendez redeemed for his another chance in the Olympic podium, but failed to edge past the first playoff of the draft with a 1–0 deficit on yuko score against Brazil's Henrique Guimarães.[7]

Eight years after his official Olympic debut, Mendez qualified for his third Puerto Rican squad, as a 30-year-old, in the men's half-lightweight class (66 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Earlier in the process, he finished third and received a berth on the Puerto Rican Olympic team from the Pan American Championships in Margarita Island, Venezuela.[8][9] Unlike his two previous Olympic stints, Mendez got off to a difficult start with an unprecedented deadlock and a golden score in his opening match against Spain's Óscar Peñas, forcing them to fight in the second round. After nine seconds, Mendez came his third chance of an Olympic medal to a dramatic halt by a single leg takedown (kuchiki taoshi) from Penas.[10][11][12]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Melvin Méndez". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. "Puerto Rico Won Two Gold Medals in Judo". Mayagüez 2010. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Puerto Rico sigue dominio, Venezuela y Colombia logran oros y Haití sonríe" [Puerto Rico continues to dominate, Venezuela, Colombia, and Haiti achieved gold medals with smiles] (in Spanish). Diario Libre. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. "Atlanta 1996: Judo – Men's Extra-Lightweight (60kg)" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. pp. 309–310. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  5. Nicksan, Philip (27 July 1996). "Coaches must answer serious questions". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  6. "Oggi il nuoto azzurro va ancora in cerca di gloria" [Italians are searching again for glory in today's swimming] (in Italian). la Repubblica. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. "Sydney 2000: Judo – Men's Half-Lightweight (66kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 96–97. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  8. Pillot Ortiz, Victor (8 June 2004). "Jessica García clasifica invitada" [Jessica García was invited to compete] (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  9. Pillot Ortiz, Victor (24 March 2004). "Alta la meta federativa para Atenas" [Added a place for the federation in Athens] (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  10. "Judo: Men's Half-Lightweight (66kg/146 lbs) Round of 32". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  11. "Óscar Peñas se queda a las puertas del bronce" [Óscar Peñas maintains his own pace for the bronze] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  12. "Peñas supera primera ronda con espectacular Ippon" [Peñas surpasses the first round with a spectacular ippon] (in Spanish). Terra Networks. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
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