# Venezuela at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Venezuela competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's seventeenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics, since its debut at the same host city in 1948. Celebrating the anniversary of the nation's Olympic debut, the British Embassy in Caracas invited former track cyclist Julio César León to travel back to the United Kingdom, and revisit his memories as the first Venezuelan athlete in history to compete at the games.
With the absence of baseball and softball at the Olympics, the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (Spanish: Comité Olímpico Venezolano, COV) sent the nation's second-largest delegation to the Games. A total of 69 athletes, 43 men and 29 women, competed in 15 sports. There was only a single competitor in artistic gymnastics, shooting, and table tennis. Among the sports, Venezuela marked its Olympic debut in beach volleyball.
Notable Venezuelan athletes included sisters Andreína and Yanel Pinto in freestyle and open water swimming, all-around gymnast Jessica López, and track cyclist Daniela Larreal, who made her Olympic comeback in London after an eight-year absence. Table tennis player Fabiola Ramos, who competed at her fifth Olympics, was the most experienced athlete and became Venezuela's second consecutive flag bearer at the opening ceremony, and the fourth in Olympic history.
Venezuela left London with its first gold medal since 1968, and its second in Olympic history. It was awarded to fencer Rubén Limardo, who won the men's individual épée.

## Medalists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Gold | Rubén Limardo | Fencing | Men's individual épée | 1 August |
Medals by sport :
| Sport | | | | Total |
| Fencing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

## Competitors

| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Archery | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Athletics | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Boxing | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Cycling | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Diving | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Fencing | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Gymnastics | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Judo | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Sailing | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Shooting | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swimming | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Table tennis | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Volleyball | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Weightlifting | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Wrestling | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 43 | 26 | 69 |

## Archery

Venezuela qualified two archers.
| Athlete | Event | Ranking round | Ranking round | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Score | Seed | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Elías Malavé | Men's individual | 666 | 25 | Kuo C-w (TPE) (39) L 5–6 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Leidys Brito | Women's individual | 634 | 45 | Cheng M (CHN) (20) L 4–6 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Athletics

Venezuelan athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard)):

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

### Track and road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Albert Bravo | 400 m | 45.61 | 5 q | 46.22 | 7 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Pedro Mora | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:22.40 | 62 |
| José Peña | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:24.06 | 8 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Edward Villanueva | 1500 m | 3:43.11 | 11 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Albert Bravo Omar Longart José Meléndez Alberto Aguilar Arturo Ramírez | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:02.62 | 4 q | — | — | 3:02.18 | 7 |

### Track and road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Yolimar Pineda | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:45:16 | 94 |
| Milángela Rosales | 20 km walk | — | — | — | — | 1:42:46 | 55 |
| Nercelis Soto | 200 m | 23.54 | 8 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Yusbely Parra | Javelin throw | DNS | DNS | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Rosa Rodríguez | Hammer throw | 67.34 | 27 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Boxing

Venezuela has qualified boxers for the following events

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Gabriel Maestre | Welterweight | Ghasemipour (IRI) W 13–8 | Lusizi (RSA) W 18–13 | Sapiyev (KAZ) L 9–20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| José Espinoza | Middleweight | Harcsa (HUN) L 13–16 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Karlha Magliocco | Flyweight | Matos (BRA) W 15–14 | Esparza (USA) L 16–24 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Cycling

Venezuela has qualified in the following events

### Road

| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Tomás Gil | Men's road race | 5:46:37 | 70 |
| Tomás Gil | Men's time trial | 57:05.12 | 33 |
| Jackson Rodríguez | Men's road race | 5:46:37 | 51 |
| Miguel Ubeto | Men's road race | 5:46:37 | 45 |
| Danielys García | Women's road race | Did not finish | Did not finish |

### Track
#### Sprint

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Round 1 | Repechage 1 | Round 2 | Repechage 2 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time Speed (km/h) | Rank | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Rank |
| Hersony Canelón | Men's sprint | 10.123 71.125 | 6 | Kelemen (CZE) L REL | Dawkins (NZL) W 10.439 68.972 | Perkins (AUS) L REL | Nakagawa (JPN) Awang (MAS) L | Did not advance | Did not advance | 9th place final Nakagawa (JPN) Kelemen (CZE) Esterhuizen (RSA) L | 12 |
| Daniela Larreal | Women's sprint | 11.569 62.235 | 16 | Guo S (CHN) L | Kanis (NED) Cueff (FRA) L | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

#### Team sprint

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time Speed (km/h) | Rank | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Rank | Opposition Time Speed (km/h) | Rank |
| Hersony Canelón César Marcano Ángel Pulgar | Men's team sprint | 44.654 60.464 | 9 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Daniela Larreal María Estela Vilera | Women's team sprint | 34.320 52.447 | 8 Q | China (CHN) L 34.415 52.302 | 7 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

#### Keirin

| Athlete | Event | 1st Round | Repechage | 2nd Round | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| Hersony Canelón | Men's keirin | 3 R | 2 Q | 5 | 12 |
| Daniela Larreal | Women's keirin | 3 R | 3 Q | 6 | 9 |

#### Omnium

| Athlete | Event | Flying lap | Flying lap | Points race | Points race | Elimination race | Individual pursuit | Individual pursuit | Scratch race | Time trial | Time trial | Total points | Rank |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Points | Rank | Rank | Time | Rank | Rank | Time | Rank | Total points | Rank |
| Carlos Linares | Men's omnium | 13.863 | 16 | −18 | 16 | 14 | 4:36.477 | 16 | 18 | 1:06.773 | 16 | 96 | 17 |
| Angie González | Women's omnium | 15.115 | 17 | 20 | 9 | 18 | 3:54.926 | 17 | 17 | 37.578 | 17 | 95 | 18 |

### BMX

| Athlete | Event | Seeding | Seeding | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Points | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Stefany Hernández | Women's BMX | 41.253 | 12 | 15 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Diving

Venezuela has qualified in the following events.

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Preliminaries | Preliminaries | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Edickson Contreras | 3 m springboard | 301.45 | 28 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Robert Páez | 3 m springboard | 382.60 | 25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Preliminaries | Preliminaries | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Jocelyn Castillo | 3 m springboard | 266.00 | 23 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Fencing

Venezuela qualified 6 fencers.

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Silvio Fernández | Individual épée | — | Alexanin (KAZ) W 15–12 | Kudayev (UZB) W 15–3 | Kesley (USA) L 9–15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Rubén Limardo | Individual épée | — | Fayez (EGY) W 15–13 | Heinzer (SUI) W 15-11 | Pizzo (ITA) W 15–12 | Kelsey (USA) W 6–5 | Piasecki (NOR) W 15–10 | |
| Hernán Jansen | Individual sabre | Samandi (TUN) W 15–13 | Yakimenko (RUS) L 4–15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Maria Martinez | Individual épée | Duplitzer (GER) L 10–15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Johana Fuenmayor | Individual foil | El Gammal (EGY) W 15–9 | Errigo (ITA) L 4–15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Alejandra Benítez | Individual sabre | — | Lee R-J (KOR) W 15–9 | Velikaya (RUS) L 10–15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Gymnastics
### Artistic
#### Women

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Total | Rank | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Total | Rank |
| Athlete | Event | F | V | UB | BB | Total | Rank | F | V | UB | BB | Total | Rank |
| Jessica López | All-around | 13.900 | 14.566 | 14.266 | 13.933 | 56.665 | 13 Q | 13.800 | 14.800 | 13.900 | 13.000 | 55.500 | 18 |

## Judo

Venezuela has qualified 3 judokas
| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Javier Guédez | Men's −60 kg | Bye | A Lamusi (CHN) W 0111–0000 | Sobirov (UZB) L 0000–1000 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Ricardo Valderrama | Men's −66 kg | Bye | Drakšič (SLO) L 0001–0010 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Giovanna Blanco | Women's +78 kg | — | Bye | Sugimoto (JPN) L 0000–0100 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Sailing

Venezuela has qualified 2 boat for each of the following events

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Net points | Final rank |
| Athlete | Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | M* | Net points | Final rank |
| Daniel Flores | RS:X | 37 | 37 | 29 | 32 | 30 | 24 | 32 | 29 | 23 | 19 | EL | 252 | 31 |
| Jose Miguel Ruíz | Laser | 45 | 46 | 34 | 37 | 42 | 36 | 33 | 44 | 35 | 28 | EL | 333 | 41 |
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;

## Shooting
### Women

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Maribel Pineda | 25 m pistol | 560 | 38 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Maribel Pineda | 10 m air pistol | 365 | 45 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Swimming

Venezuelan swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Alejandro Gómez | 1500 m freestyle | 15:27.38 | 23 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Marcos Lavado | 200 m butterfly | 1:59.31 | 27 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Erwin Maldonado | 10 km open water | — | — | — | — | 1:50:52.9 | 13 |
| Cristian Quintero | 200 m freestyle | 1:48.71 | 22 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Cristian Quintero | 400 m freestyle | 3:50.44 | 16 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Albert Subirats | 100 m butterfly | 53.18 | 29 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Crox Acuña Octavio Alesi Alejandro Gómez Marcos Lavado Cristian Quintero | 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | 3:22.68 | 15 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Andreína Pinto | 400 m freestyle | 4:08.45 | 15 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Andreína Pinto | 800 m freestyle | 8:26.43 | 6 Q | — | — | 8:29.28 | 8 |
| Andreína Pinto | 200 m butterfly | 2:11.23 | 22 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Andreína Pinto | 400 m individual medley | 4:48.64 | 27 | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Yanel Pinto | 10 km open water | — | — | — | — | 1:59:05.8 | 14 |
| Arlene Semeco | 50 m freestyle | 25.56 | 28 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Arlene Semeco | 100 m freestyle | 56.90 | 33 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Table tennis

Venezuela qualified one athlete.
| Athlete | Event | Preliminary round | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Fabiola Ramos | Women's singles | Bye | Tóth (HUN) L 3–4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Volleyball
### Beach

| Athlete | Event | Preliminary round | Standing | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Standing | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Igor Hernández Jesus Villafañe | Men's | Pool E Nummerdor – Schuil (NED) L 1 – 2 (18–21, 21–17, 10–15) Pļaviņš – Šmēdiņš (LAT) L 0 – 2 (14–21, 16–21) Erdmann – Matysik (GER) L 1 – 2 (22–20, 16–21, 11–15) | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 19 |

## Weightlifting

Venezuela has qualified 1 man and 2 women.
| Athlete | Event | Snatch | Snatch | Clean & jerk | Clean & jerk | Total | Rank |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Total | Rank |
| Junior Sánchez | Men's −69 kg | 148 | 4 | 180 | 4 | 328 | 5 |
| Betsi Rivas | Women's −48 kg | 70 | 10 | 98 | 6 | 168 | 8 |
| Inmara Henríquez | Women's −53 kg | 81 | 14 | 113 | 5 | 194 | 10 |

## Wrestling

Venezuela has qualified in the following events
Key:
* VT – Victory by Fall.
* PP – Decision by Points – the loser with technical points.
* PO – Decision by Points – the loser without technical points.

### Men's freestyle

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Ricardo Roberty | −74 kg | Midana (GBS) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 12 |
| José Daniel Díaz | −84 kg | Bye | Zvirbulis (LAT) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 17 |

### Men's Greco-Roman

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Luis Liendo | −60 kg | Bye | Kebispayev (KAZ) L 0–3 $^{PO}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 12 |
| Wuileixis Rivas | −66 kg | Bye | Guénot (FRA) L 0–3 $^{PO}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 16 |
| Erwin Caraballo | −96 kg | Arusaar (EST) L 0–3 $^{PO}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 19 |

### Women's freestyle

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Mayelis Caripá | −48 kg | Bye | Engelhardt (GER) W 3–1 $^{PP}$ | Merleni (UKR) L 0–5 $^{VT}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 10 |
| Marcia Andrades | −55 kg | Zholobova (RUS) L 0–3 $^{PO}$ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 19 |