The wrestler Jaime Espinal, Olympic medalist, formally announced his retirement as an athlete this Thursday in San Juan, although he aspires to remain linked to the world of sports.
Espinal made history by winning a silver medal in London 2012, the first Olympic medal for wrestling from Puerto Rico, the island whose delegation he was flag bearer in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
The retirement of the fighter, born in the Dominican Republic but raised and trained in Puerto Rico, in fact occurs exactly a decade after he won that Olympic medal.
“There are mixed feelings,” Espinal acknowledged at a press conference at the Olympic House in San Juan, in which he announced that he is going to take a sabbatical year and detailed his future goals.
He explained that he has various plans like starting some projects as an artist manager and event promoter, though his long-term goals are higher.
“My main life plan is to be the president of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee or secretary of the Department of Sports and Recreation,” he stressed.
Espinal indicated that he had “the opportunity to plan ahead” for his withdrawal because it is not due to an injury: “I feel I have done things well,” he added.
During his career, he also won a gold medal at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, held in Mayagüez (Puerto Rico).
Other medals achieved were a silver in 2011 at the Pan American Wrestling Qualifying Tournament in Florida and another gold at the Wrestling Championship in Italy a year later.