Melvin Méndez Acevedo (born November 17, 1974, in Aguada) is a Puerto Rican judoka who competed in the men's half-lightweight category. He picked up a bronze medal in the 66-kg division at 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 ...

in Mayagüez, attained a fifth-place finish at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, and represented his nation

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004). Mendez made his official debut at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where he competed in the men's 60-kg class. He was defeated by an

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

and a

kata guruma is one of the traditional forty throws of judo as developed by Kano Jigoro. Kata guruma belongs to the third group of the traditional throwing list in the ''Gokyo no waza'' of the Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kod ...

(shoulder wheel) from Mongolian judoka and eventual bronze medalist

Dorjpalamyn Narmandakh Dorjpalamyn Narmandakh ( mn, Доржпаламын Нармандах; born December 18, 1975) is a Mongolian judoka. At the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1 ...

in his opening match. Mendez gave himself a chance for an Olympic bronze medal through the repechage, but crashed out immediately in another ippon defeat to Great Britain's

Nigel Donohue Nigel John Patrick Donohue (born 1969) is a male retired British judoka and wrestler. Wrestling career Donohue represented England and won a bronze medal in the 52 kg flyweight, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. Ju ...

with only 20 seconds remaining. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, Mendez suffered a one-arm shoulder throw ( ippon seoi nage) defeat at the hands of Italy's

Girolamo Giovinazzo Girolamo Giovinazzo (born 10 September 1968 in Rome) is an Italian judoka who won two Olympic medals, in 1996 and 2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential ...

in the men's 66-kg opening match. In the repechage, Mendez redeemed for his another chance in the Olympic podium, but failed to edge past the first playoff of the draft with a 1–0 deficit on yuko score against Brazil's Henrique Guimarães. Eight years after his official Olympic debut, Mendez qualified for his third Puerto Rican squad, as a 30-year-old, in the men's half-lightweight class (66 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Earlier in the process, he finished third and received a berth on the Puerto Rican Olympic team from the Pan American Championships in

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on t ...

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 ...

. Unlike his two previous Olympic stints, Mendez got off to a difficult start with an unprecedented deadlock and a golden score in his opening match against Spain's Óscar Peñas, forcing them to fight in the second round. After nine seconds, Mendez came his third chance of an Olympic medal to a dramatic halt by a single leg takedown (

kuchiki taoshi is a single leg takedown in Judo adopted later by the Kodokan into their Shinmeisho No Waza (newly accepted techniques) list. It is categorized as a hand technique, Te-waza. Technique Description Kuchiki taoshi is sometimes translated as "de ...

) from Penas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Melvin 1974 births Living people Puerto Rican male judoka Olympic judoka for Puerto Rico Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2003 Pan American Games People from Aguada, Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in judo Pan American Games competitors for Puerto Rico