Luis Martinez Becomes Guatemala’s First Swimmer In Olympic Final

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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Luis Martinez made Guatemalan swimming history tonight by becoming the first swimmer from that Central American nation to compete in an Olympic final.

Martinez, 25, finished 8th in yesterday’s 100 fly semi-final with a time of 51.30 to just make it into today’s A-final. Competing today against a star-studded field that included butterfly world record holders Caeleb Dressel and Kristof Milak, Martinez took 7th with a time of 51.09.

That time broke the Guatemalan record of 51.29 that Martinez had set during prelims. That mark, in turn, broke the record of 51.44 that Martinez set during the 2019 Pan American Games, where he earned a silver medal.

As we already mentioned, Martinez’s swim tonight also made him the first swimmer to represent Guatemala in an Olympic final. Not only that, but this appears to be the first time a Guatemalan swimmer has even made it beyond prelims. In approximately 80 Olympic splashes dating back to 1952, a few Guatemalan swimmers had won their prelim heats, but none had made it to a semi-finals or final.

It’s been a long road for Martinez, who swam at Auburn, where he was a three-time All-American on Auburn’s relays. He also competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where he finished 19th in the 100 fly with a time of 52.22. Fast-forward five years, and a U.S. Open meet record later, and tonight’s Martinez’s time would’ve been enough to earn him silver in Rio, as he’s part of an incredibly fast generation that continues to push the 100 fly to the next level.

Martinez also owns the national records in the 50 free (22.61), 100 free (50.79), 200 free (1:51.79), 100 back (57.22), 50 fly (23.26), and 200 fly (1:59.48).