The Costa Rica Star previously reported on the Science Behind the Success of Nery Brenes, the article below details more about the man on a mission.

Hardly a day passes in Limon when the streets aren’t drenched in shades of scarlet, and a limonese family isn’t mourning the loss of a dear one. Consumed by murderous gang-wars and a burgeoning drug trade, the impoverished town in Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, has even been deemed as a no-go zone by the United Nations at times.

Limon witnesses more violence than anywhere else in the country, and it has lately developed notoriety for crimes against tourists.

The port-town, which houses a majority of the Afro-Caribbean population of Costa Rica, however, can also take credit for having produced arguably the nation’s greatest ever athlete. Twenty-five-year-old Nery Brenes is worth every bit of that hyperbole.

Rather than be bogged down by all the bloodshed around him, the 400m sprinter has used the turmoil as an inspiration to run faster. To overcome all odds and end Costa Rica’s 12-year wait for an Olympic medal. In London, Brenes will start as the most likely of his country’s seven competitors to end up on the podium.

But individual glory only plays a minor role in his ultimate mission. Brenes instead dreams that a memorable show in the Olympics will inspire his fellow Ticos — slang for Costa Rican boys — to put their guns and drugs to rest.

“There are a lot of deaths. Young kids killing young kids. There is a lot of drugs. I want to be someone that they can see improving life. That they have someone who can be their support,” he says. Though he practices mainly in the capital San Jose these days, five Brenes generations still stay in Limon—including great grandmother Ofilia at 97—and along with being the world champion, the runner hopes to build a school for the poor children here.

Earlier in the year too, Brenes had donated his entire prize money of $8,000 to the deprived families of Limon. 2012 so far has been a memorable year.

He won the gold medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, where he set a national and championship record. That was redemption of sorts after a stray advertising board resulted in him crashing out of the Birmingham Grand Prix, when he looked set for a big win.

Having overcome obstacles all his life, Brenes is now confident of engendering restitution both for himself and his beleaguered hometown.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Olympic glory for Costa Rica has been a family affair. All four medals that the country has procured in 13 appearances at the Games have come in the swimming-pool. Silvia Poll swam her way to history as an 18-year-old at the 1988 Seoul Olympics by winning a silver — Costa Rica’s first — in the women’s 200m freestyle. Younger sister Claudia went one step further by picking up gold — first Latin American women to do so — in the same event, eight years later in Atlanta. She also won two bronze medals at Sydney in 2000. Interestingly, the Polls were born in Nicaragua to German parents and only moved to Costa Rica following the 1972 earthquake that shook their birthplace of Managua.

COACH, A STAR

Till february of this year, Mario Fraioli—a small-time running coach in San Diego—knew little about Costa Rica and even less about the running fraternity there. An obscure email from Mario Reyes seeking his services for training Cezar Lizano, the only Costa Rican marathoner qualified for London 2012, however, changed everything. Before long, Fraioli was in San Jose attending a press conference with around 100 reporters and photographers, and in-charge of a country’s Olympic dream. The training began via email, iMessages, phone and Skype before Fraioli got Lizano to San Diego for an extensive two-week training camp. Fraioli now enjoys celebrity status in Costa Rica, where thousands throng to see him train their famous son, and he’s been sharing his experiences in a weekly column called ‘Coaching Costa Rica’.

LIMITED SUCCESS

The entire subcontinent of Central America, made up of seven countries, has only managed to win a total of seven Olympic medals in all. And they have been shared between Costa Rica — one gold, one silver, two bronze — the third smallest, and Panama — one gold and two bronze. El Salvador, who have overall sent the most representatives of the lot, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua meanwhile seek medal success.

Source: Indian Express