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Monica Puig Wins Puerto Rico Its First Gold Medal In Rio
All-time greats Steffi Graf, Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Serena Williams have all won gold in singles. The closest thing to an upset came in 2008 when Elena Dementieva defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and went on to win the tournament. And that can’t exactly be considered a shocker: Dementieva was a two-time major finalist and the fifth seed.
This year, however, was different. Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig came into the Olympics ranked 34th in the world. Little was expected of her. The 22-year-old has never advanced beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam event. At the three major tournaments contested so far in 2016, she went out in the third round in Melbourne and Paris and the first round at Wimbledon. She was, needless to say, unseeded in Rio.
And yet at the end of the week there she was with a gold medal around her neck and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Hamilton” star Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeting out his congratulations.
This astonishing result was not an accident born of a weak field. Men’s singles at the Olympics has occasionally suffered from missing top players over the years, but the best women always dutifully show up.
Puig bested reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the third round and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the semifinals. In the gold-medal match, she out-gutted reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in three bruising sets.
The win gave Puerto Rico its first-ever gold medal. The small U.S. territory, which has been sending its own team to the Olympics since 1948, immediately launched into a joyous celebration that is still going.
After the match, Kerber pointed out that she didn’t choke away the match to Puig. “I didn’t lose,” the German said. “She beat me. She played close to perfection, made very few mistakes. She was everywhere. It was impressive.”
Puig, meanwhile, couldn’t quite believe what she had just accomplished. Nothing she had done before had prepared her for this.
“It’s amazing, I’m so proud to be part of history,” she said. “It hasn’t hit me just yet.”
Read more Here on Monica Puig’s journey to winning the gold medal in Rio!
In celebration of the milestone, the 16 Host Cities will unveil countdown clocks, featuring the city’s locally inspired Official Host City Brand.
- The tournament will kick off on Thursday, 11 June 2026 in Mexico City
- With 48 teams, the FIFA World Cup 26™ will be the largest and most inclusive edition to date
- Taking place in Canada, Mexico and the United States, next year’s event marks the first FIFA World Cup™ to be hosted across three countries
On 11 June 2026, the world will come together in North America for the kick-off of the FIFA World Cup 26™. Taking place across three countries and 16 vibrant Host Cities with a newly expanded pool of 48 teams, the tournament will be the largest and most inclusive FIFA World Cup™ in history. The 2026 edition is expected to welcome 6.5 million fans to stadiums across Canada, Mexico and the United States – truly uniting the continent and globe through football.
“One year from now, the greatest football show on the planet will definitely captivate the world like never before,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “This is more than a tournament, it’s a global celebration of connection, unity and passion. From every corner of the world, dreams are turning into reality as teams qualify and fans make their plans to be part of history, counting down to the biggest FIFA World Cup yet.”
The milestone comes as the United States prepares to host the new FIFA Club World Cup™, which kicks off this coming Saturday in Miami, Florida. The tournament will feature 32 of the best teams in club football from around the globe vying to be crowned FIFA’s true club world champion.
Ford Copita Alianza is back for its 13th season with more than 800 teams
This weekend, Ford Copita Alianza held the biggest and most prestigious Hispanic youth soccer tournament in the United States at Randall’s Island Park in New York City. We were invited by the Ford Latino Team to experience the immersive and interactive Ford Zone and we absolutely loved the energy!
This year the tournament returned with more players and teams than ever as part of the 2022 Alianza de Futbol tour. More than 14,000 players from over 800 teams will participate in the U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, Girls U16 U17 and U19 age categories. This weekend the tournament had a record turnout of over 3,000 youth players and 15,000 fans!
Throughout the year, the competitions will take place in 10 cities across the country: Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and El Paso.
The champions from the U13-U19 categories will earn a spot in the Ford Copita Alianza National Finals to be held in Phoenix later this year. The Ford Copita Alianza National Champions (U13, U15, U16 Girls and U17) will earn a spot in the Dallas Cup 2023, the most competitive international tournament in North America.
“Ford Copita Alianza has established itself as the best and most prestigious Hispanic youth tournament in the country”, as mentioned by Brad Rothenberg, Executive Vice President of For Soccer Ventures, owner of Alianza de Futbol. “In 2022 we will continue with our commitment and support of the Hispanic community by providing unique opportunities in soccer development among the youngest players”.
Ford is one of the National Sponsors of the 2022 Alianza de Futbol tour.
For more information visit: alianzadefutbol.com.
2022 TOUR CITY & DATES:
- Phoenix: May 28-29
- Dallas: June 18-19
- Denver: June 25-26
- Houston: July 9-10
- Chicago: July 16-17
- New York: August 6-7
- Los Angeles: August 20-21
- San Jose: August 27-28
- El Paso: September 10-11
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