Great Olympic Appearances Led by Latin American Women
Over the years, little by little, women have taken center stage in different areas of human life. One of these is sports, where they have achieved unforgettable triumphs that have led them to write their names in history.
Photos: Flickr-Yann Caradec, Flickr-Agência Brasil Fotografias, Selectantioquia
LatinAmerican Post | Paula Hernández
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Historically, women have been largely forgotten, if we look back many centuries, they rarely appear in areas such as culture, literature, and science. Back then, many obstacles were placed on them so that they could develop their passions and skills freely. However, thanks to the struggle and rebellion of many, women today have earned their place and have achieved more equality and triumphs, for example, in Olympic sports.
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For this reason, we remember great Olympic feats carried out by them.
Venezuela
Recently, at the Tokyo Olympics, the Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas made her name bigger by setting a world record. With her 15.67 meters, Rojas broke the all-time record in the triple jump, leaving behind the record of 15.50 meters held by the Ukrainian Inessa Kravets 26 years ago.
Brazil
In Tokyo, Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade shone and became the first Latin American to stand on a podium in this sport after her silver medal in the women's individual all-around, behind Sunny Lee. At just 22 years old, Rebeca is expected to be one of the great protagonists in her discipline at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The also Brazilian Rayssa Leal broke a record in Tokyo 2020 by being the youngest medalist in Olympic Games for this country. On the other hand, the Mexican Alexa Moreno achieved a historic fourth place for Mexico in Tokyo 2020 in show jumping.
Ecuador
With a lift of 118 kilograms, weightlifter Neisi Dajomes Barrera became the first Ecuadorian woman to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
In addition, it should be remembered that during the most recent Olympic Games, Latin American women reached a record in medals by getting 24, 6 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze. The Tokyo Games are among those with the highest proportion of female victories, almost 40% of the total for the region.
Colombia
The Colombian Mariana Pajón, currently leader of the World Ranking of her discipline, is the only double Olympic Champion of Colombia, and of the female BMX. It is known as the "Queen of BMX" as it is a world reference in this sport and one of the most winning in history. Without a doubt, Pajón is one of the most important Latin American women of recent times, also raising the name of the coffee country.
Argentina
The Argentine Paula Pareto is an undisputed benchmark in judo, who has achieved historical medals in different Olympic Games such as Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016. Pareto received numerous distinctions throughout his career.
Peru
In February 2022, the Peruvian athlete Gladys Tejeda set a new South American record in the marathon in Seville, Spain. With a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 57 seconds. Recently, in the year 2021, Gladys participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where she achieved 27th place, with 2 hours, 34 minutes and 21 seconds. With that time, Gladys obtained the best position in Latin America. In addition, she is among the best athletes of the year.
Without a doubt, Latin America continues to accumulate many success stories and unforgettable records in world Olympic sport, where women have become the great protagonists.
