The Power of Women
I don’t doubt they have powers and I know they have more senses. It’s part of their magic. Wise and determined. You have come forward in recent years and your strength is present in each of your journeys and your deeds. I am referring to the Mexican sportswomen; women of dawn, discipline and intrepid journeys. Women of water and full moon. Women of daring and plenty of heart. Women who have raised their hands in the most difficult times of Mexican sport. Stories and odysseys.
If we talk about brave women, one story that never ceases to surprise me is that of Paola Longoria. From San Luis Potosi, she is the number one in the world in racquetball, a sport that was created in the United States. And it’s a wonderful story, because Paola achieved once 141 victories in a row. A woman who is also a Mechanical Engineer and is studying for a Master’s degree in Political Science. A woman of character and courage. She recently won a Grand Slam and has already been a triple gold medalist in the Central American and Pan American Games. A success story that is more alive than ever.
Another story that inspires me is that of the native of Guasave, Sinaloa: the beloved María del Rosario Espinoza. Maria discovered her passion for taekwondo at the age of five and always had the support of her father Marcelino. The anecdote tells that at the age of 12, María decided to practice it as a high-performance sport, so she took a four-hour bus every day to go to her classes. At the age of 16 she traveled to try out for the Mexican Olympic Committee and by the time she was 19 she was already World Champion in the specialty.
One year later, she would win the gold medal in Beijing 2008 by beating the Norwegian Nina Solheim in the 67 kilos. The dream was alive. She also won the Central American Gold and the Pan American Gold and in London 2012 she won a valuable Bronze.
If we follow the count we will find what Lorena Ochoa, one of the most outstanding Mexican athletes of recent times. She started playing golf at the age of 5 and by the time she was seven she already had a National Title. She studied in Arizona and won the World Junior Golf Championship five years in a row and at the age of 25 she reached number one in the LPGA, which she held for 157 consecutive weeks. In total he won 27 professional championships, 2 Majors and won 83 awards. A case never seen before in our country and that with pride was going around the world.
The chronicle of Paola Espinosa also stands out, a girl who at 9 months of age came to live in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and at the age of 7 was already in her first diving competition. At the age of 9, Paola went after her dream of entering the Junior Diving Team in Mexico City. However, in the Athens Olympics, the Mexican lived one of her most difficult times. An accident in a previous practice, problems with her coach and her 17 years old, left her far from a medal possibility in all her tests. She herself says that on her return she thought about retiring and changing course completely.
But Paola held on, got up and started again. With a different technique and coach, she gained confidence and at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro she won three gold medals. She also won the Bronze with Tatiana Ortiz in Beijing 2008, but without a doubt, the climax of her story came in the summer of 2009 at the World Championship in Rome. Paola came from a chickenpox that had put her in quarantine and she arrived with very few hours of training and preparation.
In spite of everything, she showed up. On her first day she had a disastrous series and by only 10 tenths she managed to advance to the next round. But the next day everything changed. In his first 3 jumps he achieved two tens of qualification and in the fifth one his legs did not shake. For the first time we had a World Champion from the 10 meters and Paola was living the best moment of her career.
And so we could continue with stories that became legends and made our skin completely Chinese. Like the Silver won by Ana Gabriela Guevara in the mythical 400 meters in the tartan of Athens in 2004. Or the historic Gold won by the late Soraya Jiménez, who in Sydney 2000 carried 58 kilos and a whole country to become the Olympic weightlifting champion. Not to mention the achievements of women like Nancy Contreras, Belem Guerrero, Iridia Salazar, Karla Wheelock, Mariana Avitia, Aida Roman, among others.
In the count, it becomes evident that women have raised their hands for Mexican sport and have passed the buck. This, in spite of the fact that most of them lack a strategic plan to promote the athlete’s integral development and growth: the lack of support. But it is also clear that the talent is there and it is evident. Because this is a land of great women and true warriors. Powerful grandmothers, teachers and healers. Women who show us that the dilemma is much less complex than it seems: talent with training will always be accountable. All my respect.
