The highlight of day four for Mexico was the performance of shot putter Maria de los Angeles Ortiz, who lit the cauldron in the opening ceremony.

She electrified a packed Telmex Athletics Stadium with a new shot put world record of 11.24 meters in her 57-58 category. Ortiz was at the center of a polemic justice case in Veracruz in 2004. A promising athlete, she lost her leg after being slammed against a wall by an out of control car driven by the drunk son of the assistant district attorney.  In the end, Ortiz was persuaded to accept an out-of-court settlement of 32,000 pesos and the driver never spent time in jail.