At 78 years of age, Francisco "Morochito" Rodriguez, the first Venezuelan Olympic gold medalist, died this Tuesday, April 23, at the military hospital in Caracas, Venezuela after serious health complications.
At the age of 23, Rodríguez gave Venezuela its first gold medal during the 1968 Mexico Olympics by defeating Korean Yong-Ju Jee in the legendary Arena Mexico in Mexico City.
Rodriguez was born in Cumaná on September 20, 1945 and also participated in the V Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada in 1967, and the Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia in 1971, where he won the gold medal in both competitions.
After retiring, he trained young Venezuelans in Paraíso, Caracas, where he created a club named after him.
At that time, he was awarded the Francisco de Miranda order in its third class and in 2018, in recognition of the 50 years of Mexico 68, he received the Julio César León order in its only class, awarded by the Venezuelan Olympic Federation.
"Morochito" Rodríguez is part of Venezuela's sports elite as he is one of the four gold medalists in the Olympic Games, along with Arlindo Gouveia (taekwondo), Rubén Limardo (fencing) and Yulimar Rojas (triple jump).
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