Jaime Yusept Espinal Fajardo (born October 14, 1984) is a Dominican-born Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler. In 2012 he became the first Olympic medalist in wrestling for

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

by winning a silver medal in the 84 kg division. He also became the first Puerto Rican who was born somewhere else to win an Olympic medal for the country.

Early years and education

Espinal was born to Jaime Felix Espinal and Alejandrina Fajardo Hernández. He has two siblings: Stanley and Rose Marie. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to

. Espinal studied at the Baptist College and then Gabriela Mistral High School. He began wrestling when he was nine years old when coach Pedro Rojas approached him and other kids and invited them to Club Sparta in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

along with Franklin Gómez. When he was 15 years old, Espinal and his mother moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Espinal stated he had to deal with racism and fights "every two or three days". After a real bad fight, his mother decided to send him back to Puerto Rico alone. Espinal stop wrestling and began

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

and dancing. He received a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

in cheerleading from the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón. Espinal continued college at Walden University in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He completed a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in computer design. Before his international wrestling career, Espinal spent three years as a

breakdance Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consists mainly ...

r for the Time Machine Squad, entering the group after winning a contest. In 2008, he went by the name of "Olimpic Jumps" as part of the group. During that time, he served as a backup dancer for

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artists like

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...

and Tego Calderón. He also practiced

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and worked as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

. However, convinced by coach Rojas, Espinal returned to wrestling.

Wrestling career

To prepare for the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

, his coach, Pedro Rojas, sent Espinal to train in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

for nine months. As a result, Espinal won gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

. In 2011, Espinal finished in fifth place at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. That same year, he won silver at the Pan American Wrestling Qualifying Tournament in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The next year, Espinal continued to excel in the sport finishing third at the Romanian International Tournament, and winning gold at the Città di Sassari Wrestling Championship in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. That year, at the 2012 Panamerican Wrestling Tournament in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

, Espinal qualified for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

2012 Olympics

At the

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Espinal began the first rounds by defeating

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n Andrew Dick and Georgian Dato Marsagishvili. On the semi-finals, he defeated Soslan Gattsiev, from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, to advance to the final round against

Sharif Sharifov Sharif Naidhajavovich Sharifov (, ; born 11 November 1988, in Gunukh, Charodinsky District, Dagestan) is a Russian-Azerbaijani former wrestler. Sharifov finished first in the World Championships and won a bronze in the European Championships. ...

, from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. In the match, Sharifov defeated Espinal 3–1 to earn the gold. Espinal finished with the silver medal. His medal was Puerto Rico's second silver in 17 Summer Olympics, and their second medal as a country in London.

2016 Olympics

At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Espinal was defeated in the first round of the 86 kg division by Selim Yaşar of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He was then defeated in the repechage by

Reineris Salas Reineris Salas Perez (born March 17, 1987) is a male freestyle wrestler from Cuba. He is a two time World Freestyle Wrestling Championships silver medalist. He represented Cuba at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won the bronze medal in the men's f ...

. Espinal was the flag bearer for Puerto Rico during the Parade of Nations.

Personal life

Espinal is in a relationship with Mexican wrestler Jane Valencia. Their first daughter Joy Espinal Valencia was born on May 31, 2017.

References

External links

Jaime Espinal's Rokfin ChannelJaime Espinal Profile
at COPUR * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinal, Jaime Living people 1984 births Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Puerto Rico Olympic wrestlers for Puerto Rico Dominican Republic expatriates in Puerto Rico Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Puerto Rican male sport wrestlers Pan American Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games bronze medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2015 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century American sportsmen