Culson competed in the 2012 Olympics in London on Friday , 3 August ; Saturday 4 August , and Monday 6 August . In interviews from his barrio Playa in Ponce , Puerto Rico , his family reported they would be " glued to their TVs " awaiting the moment Culson made entry into the Olympic stadium . He was also selected to be the flagbearer for the Puerto Rico delegation during the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics . A local reporter stated that , for the ceremony , most businesses in his barrio Playa closed down and " the streets were deserted " . Culson scored the best overall time in the first day of competition , winning the highly-competitive heat 5 with a time of 48.33 seconds , and advancing to the semi-finals . This race also recorded the second best time and qualified more athletes than any other heat . Culson won his semifinal over two-time Olympic winner Angelo Taylor running 47.93 seconds . On 6 August 2012 Culson won the bronze medal in the final of the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 48.10 seconds ( less than a half-second behind the gold-medal time ) , winning Puerto Rico 's first Olympic medal in 16 years and the first Olympic athletics medal for his country ( all other Puerto Rican medals had been won in boxing )
Opening Ceremonies
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Javier Culson