Peru's 25th classified athlete for the upcoming Olympic Games, Rio 2016, has arrived in a rather curious way.
It's about David Torrence, an athlete born in Japan who won a silver medal for the United States in the 5,000 meters at the last Pan American Games, but will now represent the bicolor flag.
How did this happen? It turns out that David Torrence's mother is Peruvian. That motivated him to request approval from the Peruvian Athletics Federation and the Peruvian Olympic Committee to represent our country in Rio 2016. And both entities worked together to obtain permission from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Although an athlete can only represent another country after three years since their last international participation, the International Olympic Committee made an exception for David Torrence because he promptly fulfilled all the requirements, according to El Poli.
It is worth mentioning that David Torrence had already qualified for Rio 2016 in the Payton Jordan race that took place last May. With a time of 13:19.42, the Peruvian-American athlete secured his ticket to the upcoming Olympic Games.
David Torrence will be the tenth Peruvian athlete in the discipline of athletics, in a list that includes standout long-distance runners Gladys Tejeda, Inés Melchor, and Raúl Pacheco. Now Peru will have a new candidate for the podium in Rio 2016.
Rio 2016: Torrence won the silver medal in Toronto 2015. |