sports

 Saladino receives his gold medal

David J. Phillip/AP

proud moment: Panamanian long jumper Irving Saladino shows off his gold medal awarded to him yesterday.1076996

After 80 years of competing in the Olympic Games, the stanzas of Panama's national anthem sounded for the first time yesterday.

Irving Saladino received the gold medal for his victory the day before in the long jump as the Panamanian flag was hoisted above him.

The award ceremony, which was broadcast live on Channel 4, showed Saladino singing along to the national anthem, a slight smile on his face.

After the anthem, several photos were taken with the three finalists in the event, Saldino, who won with a leap of 8.34 meters, South African Godfrey Mokoena, the silver medalist with a mark of 8.24 meters, and Cuban Ibrahim Camejo, who won the bronze with a mark of 8.20 meters.

Saladino becomes the second Latin American athlete to win the gold medal in the event, following in the footsteps of Cuban athlete Iván Pedroso who won the event at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Saldino is expected to arrive back in Panama at 10:45 a.m. Thursday.

President Martín Torrijos said that the Colón native will be received as a national hero, saying Saladino is an example of perseverance for all Panamanians.

The government also plans to name the facility being built in the area known as the Ciudad Deportiva after the gold medalist.

Saladino was recognized by the foreign media as well. He was featured in a prominent Chinese newspaper yesterday for winning the first gold medal in Panama's history, along with stories about a world record in the women's pole vault and the injury to star Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang.