As a kid, Ángel Barajas used to jump off fences. His mom knew he’d stick the landing. Now he’s stuck the biggest landing in his fledgling gymnastics career.
The 17-year-old made history on Monday as Colombia’s first gymnast to clinch a medal in the Olympic Games, winning second place in men’s horizontal bar. He’s also the first Colombian to medal in the Paris games. The teen’s victory was anything but expected.
Colombia is a soccer-loving nation where gymnastics is barely acknowledged. At the event, Barajas earned the same overall score as Japan’s Oka Shinnosuke, who won the gold medal. He slipped to second place because he scored fewer points for execution of his routine and its difficulty level.
Barajas was followed by Taiwan’s Tang Chia-Hung and China’s Zhang Boheng, who tied for third place . Colombians exploded with praise for the young Olympian. Images and videos of Barajas standing on the Olympic podium quickly went viral on social media while politicians congratulated the teen on X.
“The great Ángel Barajas makes history and fills his country with pride,” wrote Senator María José Pizarro on X . “Thank you for being an example for millions of youth.” Other social comments had a lighter touch: “I’m celebrating the medal of a Colombian gymnast I didn’t know existed five minutes ago for a sport that I didn’t know existed five minutes ago,” was another comment on X.
“I love you a lot, Ángel Barajas.” From tough times .