Peru’s Last Shot at an Olympic Medal is Knocked Down.

Peter Lopez, a former U.S. Taekwondo team member and dual citizen of the United States and Peru, was Peru’s final hope for an Olympic Medal on Thursday.

Peter made it to the Bronze medal match after being beat out by his friend and Taekwondo colleague, Mark Lopez of the infamous and controversial Lopez family.

It would be Turkish athlete, Servet Tazegul, that beat out Peter Lopez for the Bronze medal (1-0) and put an end to the Peruvian dream.

For many months the Peruvian media has been praising Peter Lopez as the Great Peruvian Hope in what can be regarded as a Media Lust. He was praised as the one with a fighting chance to bring back an Olympic medal under the Peruvian Banner

However, very little is known about Peter Lopez in Peru and I think much of the media attention is very biased (as it mostly is here) and not very fair and balanced.

There are questions surrounding Peter’s participation under the Peruvian banner:

• Why is it that Peter Lopez decided to join the Peruvian Taekwondo Team in 2005?
• How come Peter lives and trains in Texas year round with the Lopez Family at their Elite Taekwondo school in Houston?
• Why does the Federation pay Peter a salary and his travel expenses, yet gives nothing to their other athletes?
• Why is Paris Amani the “Peruvian” trainer for Peter Lopez? Why doesn’t another member of the Peruvian delegation train him?
• Why did Peter obtain his Peruvian Citizenship AFTER he “joined” the Peruvian Taekwondo Team?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t personally know Peter and I have nothing against him, but these questions and the circumstances do make one wonder what his true intentions are as well as ask “WHY?” the FDPTKD (Peruvian Taekwondo Federation) and the IPD (Peruvian Sports Institute) don’t support their senior athletes with the same “gusto” or “bravado” as Peter Lopez.

So what are the FACTS?

• After an International Embezzlement Scandal involving then WTF President, Un Yong Kim, affiliated Taekwondo Federations and Regional Governing Bodies were re-organized; including the then USTU (United States Taekwondo Union.)
• The USTU was changed from a Non-Profit to a For-Profit Organization in 2004 and was subsequently renamed USA Taekwondo. (Click here for article.)
• After the reformation of USA Taekwondo, athletes had to re-qualify. The last sign of Peter Lopez competing and winning for the U.S. Team was in 2003 at the World Taekwondo Championship, in Germany.
• In 2004 Peter Lopez is not on the U.S. Senior National Team.
• In 2005 Peter Lopez conducts a seminar in Lima, Peru with the Peruvian National Team in participation.
• In 2005 Peter Lopez joins the Peruvian Taekwondo Federation as a National Athlete and receives assistance from Arturo Woodman and Ivan Dibos to obtain his Peruvian Citizenship. (*Note: In Peru it is very difficult to claim Peruvian Citizenship after you turn 18 years of age.)
• Peter Lopez receives a monthly salary (rumored to be $2000 USD per month according to an inside source.) and is permitted to return to live and train in the United States full time. He only competes at International events under the Peruvian banner and the Peruvian Federation pays for his travel expenses and accommodation.
• After 2 years of Federation & IPD investment, Peter Lopez wins Silver under the Peruvian flag at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil after losing to Brazilian, Diogo Silva. The 2007 win qualifies him for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His only other medal under the Peruvian banner was in August 2005 at the XV Bolivarian Games, where he won Bronze.
• At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, American and former U.S. Team Coach, Paris Amani of Elite Taekwondo in Houston, Texas participates as Peter Lopez’s trainer and dons the Peruvian jacket.

As one can see, Peter’s intentions are rather suspicious. It is also incorrect to say that he “joined” the Peruvian National Taekwondo Team considering that he trains year round in Houston, Texas with U.S. Taekwondo Team members.

• So, did Peter Lopez don the red & white of Peru out of a newly found patriotism and pride?
• OR did Peter Lopez jump the international ship and put on the red & white out of a personal desire to continue his international competition career and go for the Olympic Gold?

I don’t know if that will ever be discovered, but for now the media does a good job of painting Peter Lopez as a hometown hero and wunderkid.

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Aside from Peter, I do have a personal objection to Paris Amani’s attitude towards Peru.

This brings me to publicly criticize Amani for statements that he made on his website in a blog titled “Perspective” regarding Peru.

Here are some excerpts from Amani’s blog:

“When Peter Lopez first asked me to coach him internationally to help him to make the 2008 Olympic Team I must admit that I had mixed emotions….in order for me to coach him I would have to wear a Peruvian uniform. This in itself was not easy for me at all.”

“If I am cut and I bleed, then I will bleed stars and stripes. So, in here lays the conflict: coach Peter Lopez (dual citizen USA – Peru) and have to wear Peru over my chest… where a United States flag was when I was on the team…”

‘Therefore if I coach Peter, then Elite will have a fourth Olympian and I would be fulfilling not only his dream of competing (an winning), but my dream that I have earned many times over of coaching at the Olympic Games.”

“The Peruvians are a people that have and continue to endure a great deal. Their poor struggle and endeavor to find a means to earn a living. Even with an economy that is growing by 9% per year and rich deposits of silver, copper, gold and other minerals Peru still has no sizable middle class and it seems the poor have no discernable means of breaking the chain of poverty.”

“It is in this atmosphere that Peter and I trained for over two weeks leading down the home stretch to the Olympic Games…we trained in facilities that had no power or lights etc…”

After reading Amani’s blog and background I can see that he is an educated man, but unfortunately Amani’s references to Peru being a poor and less fortunate country than the United States did not strike me as an educated observation.

I am very certain that Amani and Lopez practiced at the National Stadium in Lima, Peru, which was founded on October 27th, 1952 and has had little to no remodeling since its inauguration. If this is the “facility” that Amani and Lopez trained at then he is correct to note its antiquity, but to state that it has “no power or lights” is completely false.

Amani and Lopez could have trained at Academia Young Gi, which is located in the exclusive district of Monterrico (Santiago de Surco) near the U.S. Embassy. Academia Young Gi is owned by Master and FDPTKD President, Young Gi Jeon.

There’s also the Academia Lee, which is the Taekwondo Academy of Assassinated FDPTKD President, Ki Hyung Lee. The location of the academy is in another exclusive district of Lima, in San Isidro.

Now imagine the idea of a Taekwondo Academy owned by Presidents of the Peruvian Taekwondo Federation not having power or light! Amani in my opinion was exaggerating the “reality” of Peruvian life. There were much more modern “facilities” where Amani and Lopez could have opted to train.

Furthermore, Peru’s economy grew by over 11.5% in June and has had 84 consecutive months of positive economic growth. Maybe Amani should review the statistics of the declining U.S. economy and then reconsider his attitude about Peru being poor.

As for there being “no sizable middle class”, that is, again, false. The Peruvian middle class is growing, while the U.S. middle class is shrinking. Ask Mr. Donald Trump and Mr. Robert Kiyosaki about this. They wrote about the shrinking U.S. middle class in their book, “Why We Want You to Be Rich.” ~ Then again, it’s only the educated opinions and observations of one millionaire and one billionaire. Why listen to them when one could listen to the educated wisdom of U.S. Taekwondo Coach, Mr. Amani?!

To assist Paris Amani in his citations, I recommend that he refer to the following sources before expressing a half-witted opinion about Peru in his next blog:

1. Living in Peru
2. Andina Peru News Agency
3. El Comercio

I may not be an investigative journalist, but I did have the common sense to cite my references by providing links throughout this post.

Frankly, my perception of Paris Amani is that of an egotistical elitist (excuse the pun.) In reality, his attitude does not phase me, the Lopez family also strikes me as haughty egoists or “egoistas” as they would say in Spanish.

They are all crocodiles from the same pond and Peter Lopez swims with this bunch; although to Peter’s credit I don’t find him to be egotistical from judging him by his public persona. However I do find him to be selfish and I think that his motives for “joining” the Peruvian National Taekwondo Team were derived from selfish reasons, not patriotic ones, especially after reviewing the circumstances and facts.

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I won’t say it’s a shame for Peter to represent the colors of Peru; he is after all, Peruvian. BUT for Paris Amani to don a Peruvian Team jacket after making such inflammatory statements should be considered an insult to the Peruvian people.

Did the big Peruvian investment in Peter Lopez pay off? I don’t really think so.

There are many more deserving, loyal and hard working Peruvian athletes that have been neglected by their country and not given the same support that newbie Peter Lopez has received.

The government shouldn’t reward athletes for their hard work IF and WHEN they win an Olympic Medal. The government should implement a system that scouts for and forms their national talent. There is a reason why Spain and Mexico are ever present in International Taekwondo events.

Aside from Taekwondo, countries such as Spain, Mexico, Cuba, Russia, etc. have effective athletic training systems which cultivates the athletic talents of their countries. They have a consistent pool of athletes to choose from, so when one generation is gone another one steps in and carries on the national achievements.

Someone commented in a previous post that I wrote, about Peru’s overall medal count, citing it as 4 and the majority of the medals being in shooting.

Anyone that has lived in Peru or has had the opportunity to see Peru (outside of the National Stadium in Lima) would realize that Peru is the perfect country for sports!

The only thing I see preventing Peruvians from taking home Olympic medals are the corrupt politics and sports federations of this country that rob these hardworking individuals and the Peruvian nation of their dreams for Gold.

If Amani and Lopez were so inclined to share their “blessings” with the “less fortunate” Peruvian athletes, especially in Taekwondo, then they could begin by inviting and paying for Peruvian athletes to train in the United States with them (instead of permitting Peruvian resources to be recklessly diverted and spent on these two “blessed” and “fortunate” individuals.)

As far as I’m concerned The Peruvian National Taekwondo Team is presently a ONE MAN TEAM.

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Sites of Interest

• Peru.com – Taekwondo Page (Spanish)
• Yahoo! Beijing Olympics – Taekwondo (English)
• The World Taekwondo Federation
• USA Taekwondo (Federation – English)
• Federacion Deportiva Peruana de Taekwondo (Peru-Spanish)
• Instituto Peruano del Deporte – IPD (Spanish)
• Elite Taekwondo (Amani & Lopez owned Academy)
• Peter Lopez (USA Athlete Bio)

*Disclaimer: This is a commentary. You are more than welcome to leave your comments below, irrelevant or abusive comments will be deleted.