Luis Carlos Martínez Méndez (born 11 December 1995) is a

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. He has competed in two Olympic Games: 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 ...

, Brazil, and the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan.

Career

College

Martínez attended

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

from 2014 to 2018, where he was part of the

Auburn Tigers swimming and diving The Auburn Tigers swimming and diving program is Auburn University's representative in the sport of swimming and diving. The Tigers compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 and are members of the Southeastern Conf ...

program. He was a three-time NCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Professional career

Martínez competed at the

in the men's 100 metre butterfly event; his time of 52.22 seconds finished him 19th in the heats but did not qualify him for the semifinals. The next year, he competed in the butterfly events at the

2017 World Aquatics Championships The 17th FINA World Championships () were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

, representing Guatemala. At the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Peru, Martínez won the silver medal in the 100 meters butterfly, imposing a new games record in the preliminary heats. In 2020, he won first place in the 100 meters butterfly at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships. By qualifying for the men's 100 metre butterfly at the

, Martínez became the first Guatemalan to reach a final in any swimming event; he eventually finished seventh, with a time of 51.29 seconds.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Luis (swimmer) 1995 births Living people Guatemalan male swimmers Olympic swimmers for Guatemala Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists in swimming Pan American Games silver medalists for Guatemala Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in swimming Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Guatemala Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Guatemala City Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Auburn Tigers men's swimmers Expatriate swimmers in the United States