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 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 ...

by winning a silver medal in the 84 kg division.

Early years and education

Espinal was born to Jaime Felix Espinal and Alejandrina Fajardo Hernández. He has two siblings: Stanley and Rosemary. 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, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

along with

Franklin Gómez Franklin Gómez Matos (born August 5, 1986) is a Dominican-born Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler. Early years and education Gómez was born in Puerto Plata Province in the Dominican Republic. His father, Eugenio Gómez, was a fisherman and his ...

. When he was 15 years old, Espinal and his mother moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

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

. 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 activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

and dancing. He received a

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

in cheerleading from the

University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón The University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón (UPRB or UPR-Bayamón) is a public university in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico System (UPR) and is better known as CUTB from its previous name of ''Colegio Universitar ...

. Espinal continued college at Walden University in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. He completed a

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

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

breakdance Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

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 artists like

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

and

Tego Calderón Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 (as Tego Tec) and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio alb ...

. He also practiced

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

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 ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

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

Wrestling career

To prepare for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, his coach, Pedro Rojas, sent Espinal to train in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

. In 2011, Espinal finished in fifth place at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

in Guadalajara,

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

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

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. 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 ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. That year, at the 2012 Panamerican Wrestling Tournament in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

, Espinal qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

2012 Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, Espinal began the first rounds by defeating

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...

n Andrew Dick and Georgian

Dato Marsagishvili Dato Marsagishvili ( ka, დათო მარსაგიშვილი; born March 30, 1991) is a male wrestler from Georgia, born in Stepantsminda. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, despite losing the quarterfinals against Jaime Es ...

. On the semi-finals, he defeated

Soslan Gattsiev Soslan Magometovich Gattsiev ( uz, Сослан Магометович Гатциев; born September 27, 1985 in Andijan, Uzbekistan) is an amateur Belarusian freestyle wrestler of Uzbek origin, who competes in the men's light heavyweight catego ...

, from

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, to advance to the final round against Sharif Sharifov, from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. 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 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

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

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He was then defeated in the repechage by

Reineris Salas Reineris Salas Perez (born March 17, 1987 in Havana) 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 bro ...

. Espinal was the flag bearer for Puerto Rico during the

Parade of Nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games fro ...

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 of 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 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