Olympic heat.

• Author: Estrada, Louie
• Position: Latin American athletes in the Barcelona Olympics

As legend has it, Pheidippides, a professional runner, carried the news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Upon his arrival in Athens, he called out, "Rejoice, we conquer!" and then dropped dead of exhaustion. This story is the basis of perhaps the most prestigious event in the Summer Olympics, the 26-mile 385-yard footrace known as the marathon.

Eunicio Peron, represents Mexico's best chance at a medal in this grueling test of stamina at the Games of the XXV Olympiad in Barcelona, Spain this summer. In a race earlier this year, Peron qualified for the Olympics with a time of 2:08.36. By comparison, the gold medal winner in the 1988 Seoul Games finished the marathon in 2:10.32. In fact, Peron's teammates, Salvador Garcia and Esidro Ricco, both qualified by breaking the two hour and 10 minute mark. Should any of Mexico's marathon runners place in the top three, it would be the first time a Latin American nation would be represented on the marathon winners' platform since Argentine Delfo Cabrera won the gold in the 1948 London Games.

Mexican gymnast Luis Lopez may also feel the pressure of becoming the first Latin American to break Eastern Europe's domination of men's gymnastics over the last 36 years. The 23-year-old Guadalajara native was the 1991 National Collegiate Athletic Associations champion in the highbar and placed ninth overall in the same event at the World Individual Championships in France in April. "Many people know that I'm going to do a good job, but they not only want a good job, they want me to win the medal," said Lopez, looking ahead to Barcelona.

It's difficult not to become the focus of national attention when it is a one-man team. Denise Lopez can sympathize, since she is Mexico's one-woman gymnastics team. Some other Western Hemisphere countries will also compete with one-person delegations, which, as history has shown, can be quite successful. In the 1988 Seoul Games, Anthony Nesty returned to his native Suriname a hero for capturing...