Carolina Desireé José Padrón Ríos (born March 20, 1983) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n sportscaster, journalist and television host currently working for

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (whi ...

and

ESPN Mexico ESPN Latin America (on-air as ESPN) is the Latin American division of ESPN Inc., and broadcasts sports-related programming for the region in Spanish. It was launched on 31 March 1989. Its programming is adapted to the likes of viewers, who tend ...

. Padrón is the co-anchor of ESPN's Spanish version of ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'' and also has covered sporting events such as the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

and the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Career

Padrón has a degree in Social Communication from the Universidad Santa Maria and earned a Masters in Journalism from

CEU San Pablo University CEU San Pablo University () is a private Catholic university in Madrid, Spain. It is involved in a number of academic exchange programmes with renowned universities worldwide (Columbia, Chicago, Duke, Boston, Colgate), work practice schemes an ...

in Spain through a grant from the Fundacion Carolina. Padrón started her career in 2006 as an intern for ''Radio Marca'' of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain which was also made possible by the grant from the Fundacion Carolina. Padrón then moved back to her native Venezuela where she worked for

Meridiano Televisión Meridiano Televisión is a 24-hour sports network in Venezuela. History Meridiano Televisión was created in 1996 as a privately owned television network in Venezuela, exclusively dedicated to national and international sports. Its owned by Bloq ...

covering various events such as the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who will also host the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all ...

, the

2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Women's association football, women's football tournament is the second such tournament, and was held in Trinidad and Tobago from 5 to 25 September 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six c ...

and also covered the

2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...

for

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

network Telefutura. (now known as UniMás) In December 2010, Padrón moved to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

to work for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as a co-anchor for the network’s flagship program, ''SportsCenter''. She replaced fellow Venezuelan

Adriana Monsalve Adriana Monsalve (born July 27, 1977) is a Venezuelan sportscaster, journalist who currently works for TUDN. Career Monsalve became famous as the lead singer in the girl band "Chikas" and in the pop bands "Tartara" in Venezuela, and "Latin Fiest ...

who moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to host ''

Nación ESPN ''Nación ESPN'' was a sports-related talk show, modeled after ESPN's Sportsnation TV series. It was hosted by three sports journalists in the Latino market, David Faitelson, Mauricio Pedroza and Pilar Pérez, who feature strong opinions, heated ...

''. Padrón has covered various sporting events for ESPN such as the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

, the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

, the Mexican Tennis Open, various important European football matches, the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and two

s (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

). On December 7, 2015, Padrón along with her colleague Jorge Eduardo Sánchez anchored the first ''SportsCenter'' from ESPN's new four-studio production facility in Mexico City. Since August 2017, Padrón has hosted her own edition of ''SportsCenter'' called ''SC5''.

Personal life

Padrón was born in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

but was raised in Puerto la Cruz. Padrón currently resides in

and also lived in

when she worked for ''Radio Marca''. In 2013, Padrón along with her fellow ''SportsCenter'' anchors Álvaro Morales and Jorge Eduardo Sánchez appeared in a This is ''SportsCenter'' commercial with

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...

which aired both in English and Spanish. Padrón has her own blog called ''La Chica del Banquillo''.

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Padron, Carolina Living people 1983 births People from Maracaibo Venezuelan sports journalists Venezuelan women journalists Venezuelan bloggers Venezuelan women bloggers Venezuelan television presenters Venezuelan women television presenters Venezuelan expatriates in Spain Venezuelan expatriates in Mexico ESPN Latin America Universidad Santa María (Venezuela) alumni People from Puerto la Cruz