Francisco Rodríguez will forever be remembered as the first athlete to win a gold medal for Venezuela at the Olympic Games. Rodríguez began boxing at his local gym when he was 19-years-old and showed great promise to his coaches. He competed as a flyweight at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and won gold after defeating Ricardo Delgado in the final. The following year Rodríguez boxed in the light-flyweight category at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. After wins against Rafael Carbonell, Hatha Karunaratne, and Harlan Marbley, he then beat Ji Yong-Ju in the tournament’s final to win the gold medal. He continued to have success after his Olympic triumph, winning gold at the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Games, along with another Pan American Games gold with victory against Arturo Delgado at the 1971 edition in Cali, Colombia. Rodríguez returned to the Olympics for the 1972 München Games; however, he was defeated in his first fight, losing to Australia’s Dennis Talbot by knockout. He also had the honour of being the flagbearer for Venezuela at the Opening Ceremony. Rodríguez was inducted into the Venezuelan Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Venezuela