Before Erick Barrondo of Guatemala traveled to London to compete at the Olympics, he bought his family their first-ever TV.
Good decision.
His parents, both middle-distance runners, watched him race in the 20-kilometer walk in which he won a silver. It was first medal of any color at any Olympic games for the poverty-stricken and violence-wrecked Central American nation.
"It is a country that has suffered much, but that also has dreams," said Barrondo, a 21-year-old accounting student. "If somebody tomorrow changes a gun or a knife for a pair of shoes and begins to train for a sport, I would be the happiest person on earth."
Otto Perez, the president of Guatemala, said "this achievement shows what we can do with perseverance."
—Barbara Surk —Twitter http://www.twitter.com/BarbaraSurkAP
EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.