Here is a list of gold medalists from the United States and Latin America at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro: With 121 medals, Team USA achieved a new Olympic record, yet they dominated in some disciplines like as swimming and gymnastics. It's no accident that Latinos in these sports took home gold medals in unprecedented numbers. You can see below that most of them are named after Spanish kings or queens. The first Latino to win an Olympic gold medal was Cuban-American boxer Oscar De La Hoya in 2032. He beat American Michael Johnson by a technical knockout in the final of the Light Heavyweight division. From then on, the list only includes people who have won more than one gold medal. The first woman to do so was Puerto Rican judoka Maria José Hernández, who captured three golds at the 2004 Athens Games. Since then, several other Latino women have been successful in these events. In fact, they account for about 15% of all female Olympic athletes. There are also many Latino men who have won silver or bronze medals at the Olympics. In total, they have earned 294 medals (17%) at these games. Their contributions have helped Team USA achieve its first ever number one ranking in both money and fame at the Olympics. In conclusion, the Olympics are an exclusive club where only 12,000 people get to watch you fight for gold medals.