Puerto Rico is a large island on the northern rim of the Caribbean that is home to approximately 4 million people.

[2] Between its 1948 debut and its arrival at the Beijing Olympics, Puerto Rican athletes had won six medals (one silver and five bronze).

During the course of the 2008 Olympics, 22 athletes represented Puerto Rico—17 men and five women—in eight sports (track and field, boxing, artistic gymnastics, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, and weightlifting).

[2] Félix Martínez participated in the Beijing Olympics in the men's 400 meters dash on behalf of Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican runner's heat was led by South African athlete Juan van Deventer (3:36.32) and Spain's Arturo Casado (3:36.42).

Cotto was born in Fajardo, a city on Puerto Rico's far northeastern coast, and participated in the Olympics for the first time in Beijing at age 23.

[10] Puerto Rico's sole representative in the event participated in the first heat during the August 16 semifinal round, where he faced seven other athletes.

[10] Carol Ann Rodríguez Taylor competed for Puerto Rico at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the women's 200 meters dash.

Born in Pomona, a northerly suburb of Los Angeles, Rodríguez attended the University of Southern California.

[17] McWilliams Arroyo Acevedo represented Puerto Rico as a boxer in the flyweight class (51 kilograms in weight or below).

[19] McJoe Arroyo Acevedo also represented Puerto Rico in boxing, competing in the bantamweight class (under 54 kilograms in weight).

[20] The preliminary round of the event took place on August 12, where Arroyo challenged Russia's Sergey Vodopyanov in the sixth bout.

Participating in the men's lightweight class (under 60 kilograms in weight), Pedraza was 19 years old at the time he entered the Beijing Olympics.

[22] During the preliminary round of the event, which took place on August 11, Pedraza competed in the ninth bout against Turkey's Onur Sipal.

[23] Jonathan "Mantequilla" González Ortíz competed at the Beijing Olympics on Puerto Rico's behalf, participating in the light welterweight class (64 kilograms in weight or less).

[24] During the preliminary round of his event, which occurred on August 10, González was placed in the eighth bout against a Romanian boxer named Ionut Gheorghe.

[25] Carlos Negrón Colón participated in boxing events on Puerto Rico's behalf at the Beijing Olympics.

Born in the southern inland town of Villalba, Negrón was 21 years old at the time of his participation in the Beijing Olympics of 2008 in the light heavyweight class (less than 81 kilograms in weight).

[27] The Round of 16 in Negrón's event took place on August 14, where the Puerto Rican boxer competed in the eighth bout.

[29] Q = Qualified for final Official Olympic Artistic Gymnastics Schedule Alexis Chiclana Melendez represented Puerto Rico in men's judo.

[30] Pablo Figueroa Carillo participated in the sport of judo at the Beijing Olympics, representing Puerto Rico.

Born in 1978, Brenes participated in Beijing as a 29-year-old, taking part in the competitions of the half middleweight class (less than 81 kilograms in weight).

Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lennox-Silva has been affiliated with the Lake Forest Swim Club in the Chicago area.

[45] In the women's 400 meters freestyle, Lennox-Silva participated during the seven-person second heat of the August 10 preliminary round.

She placed ahead of South Korea's Lee Ji-Eun (4:21.53) and behind Finland's Eva Lehtonen (4:20.07) in a heat led by Venezuela's Yanel Andreina Pinto Perez (4:18.09) and the Ukraine's Nataliya Khudyakova (4:18.34).

She placed behind Ingvild Snildal of Norway (2:14.53) in a heat that was led by Greek first-place swimmer Eleftheria Evgenia Efstathiou (2:13.27) and Turkey's second-place athlete Gulsah Gunenc (2:14.44).

Born in 1984, Román entered Beijing at age 24, competing in the men's welterweight class (which includes athletes under 80 kilograms in weight).

[48] During the course of the competition's first round, which took place on August 22, Román faced Canada's Sébastien Michaud in the sixth match.

Born in June 1987, Ocasio participated in the Beijing Olympics at age 21 in the welterweight division, which includes athletes under 67 kilograms in weight.

[51] During the quarterfinal round, Ocasio again participated in the first match, this time facing German athlete Helena Fromm.