Ismael Ortiz

Ismael Ortiz
Personal information
Full name	Ismael Jafet Ortiz Zuñiga
Nickname	Da Ish
Nationality	Panama
Born	October 22, 1982 (age 43); Panama City, Panama
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Pine Crest Swim Club (USA)
College team	Drury University (2005-'07)

Ismael Jafet Ortiz Zuñiga (born October 22, 1982, in Panama City) is a swimmer from Panama. He participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, competing in the Men's 100-meter Freestyle. His heat time was 51.74 seconds, which was not enough to advance to the semi-finals. Ortiz also represented his native country at the World Championships (long course) in 2001 and 2003.

"...I found out I wasn’t going when I read the newspaper! How do you think one feels when your own country doesn’t even tell you that you’re not going?"

— Ismael Ortiz, on the 2008 Olympic controversy

Despite qualifying to represent Panama in the 2008 Olympics with a time below 23.00 seconds, domestic political circumstances prevented him from competing in the games, causing a small public outcry in his home country.

He swam for the USA's Drury University from 2005 to 2007. He graduated with a degree in Fine Art in 2008, and currently teaches youth swimming in Miami.

Trivia

Ortiz is known affectionately by teammates and fans as "The Ish."
He is also a successful sculpture artist in his own right, having had many shows in both the United States and in Panama. His found-object artwork is reminiscent of the sculptures of Robert Rauschenberg and Jean Tinguely.
Ortiz is a noted fan of the manga series Naruto, admittedly spending hours on end watching pirated YouTube transcriptions of the comics.^{[citation needed]} Playful attempts at coining the nickname "Pablo Naruto" (cf. Chilean love poet Pablo Neruda), a pun derived from his characteristic romantic Latin machismo and his aforementioned otaku tendencies, never stuck.

Ortiz is also an avid sailor according to the Denver post.

References

↑ Ortiz's bio from www.floswimming.org; retrieved 2009-06-24
↑ BEIJING 2008: MAS SOBRE EL CASO ISMAEL ORTIZ Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine from dealante.com; retrieved 2010-11-05
↑ Ismael Ortiz and the Beijing Olympics Archived 2009-02-27 at the Wayback Machine from www.rob-rivera.com; retrieved 2010-11-05
↑ Ortiz's bio Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine from the old Drury Athletics website. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
↑ Coach Ish^{[permanent dead link]} from Davie Nadadores; retrieved 2010-11-05
↑ "Ismael Ortiz and the Beijing Olympics | Rob-Rivera.com". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
↑ Ismael Ortiz: Video Profile from Brian Bardsley; retrieved 2010-10-04
↑ Obelisk Art presents: Ismael Ortiz Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine from www.obeliskhome.org; retrieved 2010-10-04

[1] Ortiz's bio from www.floswimming.org; retrieved 2009-06-24

[2] BEIJING 2008: MAS SOBRE EL CASO ISMAEL ORTIZ Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine from dealante.com; retrieved 2010-11-05

[3] Ismael Ortiz and the Beijing Olympics Archived 2009-02-27 at the Wayback Machine from www.rob-rivera.com; retrieved 2010-11-05

[4] Ortiz's bio Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine from the old Drury Athletics website. Retrieved 2009-06-24.

[5] Coach Ish^{[permanent dead link]} from Davie Nadadores; retrieved 2010-11-05

[6] "Ismael Ortiz and the Beijing Olympics | Rob-Rivera.com". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2010-11-06.

[7] Ismael Ortiz: Video Profile from Brian Bardsley; retrieved 2010-10-04

[8] Obelisk Art presents: Ismael Ortiz Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine from www.obeliskhome.org; retrieved 2010-10-04