Paola Longoria: one of the big promises of the Central American and Caribbean Games

Onofre Zambrano July 19, 2018

349 4 minutes read

The Mexican player is one of the big promises in Barranquilla 2018, where she becomes a favorite to win the gold after overcoming a problem with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

The 23rd Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla 2018 are already underway and, as in all competitions, there are athletes who take the opportunity in these events to put their name on the map. On the other hand, already consolidated athletes participate with the duty to win. In that second category is the Mexican Paola Longoria, one of the top promises for this edition, who will seek to revalidate her golds after overcoming an administrative problem with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Leer en español: Paola Longoria: una de las grandes promesas de los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe

The outstanding racquetball athlete gave statements to Marca Claro after arriving in Colombia. "Obviously we are here with the clear goal of endorsing those Veracruz 2014 medals, and I believe that arriving here as the player to beat and as the promise of medals is a pressure, but also a motivation. I think I've gotten used to it and blessed God I was able to close my ninth season as number one," she said.

According to the same publication, Longoria was cautious and respectful of the ability of her rivals. "Several of the players who are here also play in the Professional Racquetball League. I have never been a confident player, I always give my best effort and I value the work of my opponents," said the Mexican.

The winner of 89 scepters under the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) has the obligation in Barranquilla to defend her titles in the individual, double and team tests. As soon as the Central American tournament is over, she will continue on Colombian lands, and not just on a tour, since she will compete in the Cali World Championship to be held between August 10 and 18, as was indicated by the Mexican publication Récord.

Champion in question

Her attendance in Barranquilla was not guaranteed, pending a ruling by the World Anti-Doping Agency that finally resolved in her favor. Longoria said that it was all about the infringement of an administrative rule that is penalized by the aforementioned organization. According to Récord, the number one in the world in this little traditional sport incurred in an administrative fault, specifically with the localization norm or as she calls "whereabouts". For this reason, she had to resolve this with urgency, with the support of the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sport (Conade, by its acronym in Spanish), to present the requested data and avoid a violation of the WADA.

"Everything was an administrative issue. There was handled an information that in one way or the other questioned my participation in many jousts and, well, I have always been in favor of fair play, I have always been a player who takes great care of those aspects. Yes, I had a little problem out there with WADA, more than anything in the administrative field, because of the whereabouts, because sometimes you can not put the addresses correctly. That was a legal issue, "Longoria explains to Record, minutes before leaving for Colombia.

As RTVE explains in the case of the Spanish swimmer Rafa Muñoz, all athletes who submit to the control of the WADA are required to update their address data through a personal and non-transferable code directly on the website of the aforementioned body, in which they should also inform if they move to live in another place.

Who is Paola Longoria?

It is possible that Longoria is not so popular in this part of America, so it is interesting to know that this July 20 she will be 29 years. The native of San Luis Potosí defined herself as hyperactive and a lover of several sports on her official website. In the broad spectrum mentioned on her website, there are disciplines as diverse as tennis, gymnastics, football, and basketball. "With racquetball was love at first sight, the ball was faster than the rest of the sports and was practiced in a closed place, so I decided it would be the sport to which I would dedicate my effort and passion. When I was 9 years old, I qualified for my first Youth World Championship and so began my journey. Today I have 18 years of sports career", she mentions on her page.

Paola seems to have very clear that sport is not everything in a person's life. Therefore, in parallel, she finished her career in mechanical engineering, as well as her MA in Political Science. "At one stage of my life, I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and live in the United States. It was difficult to get ahead, my workouts were different and being alone in another country gave me the strength to give my best. Giving up is very easy and I clung to my dreams. That implied many sacrifices, but in the end, I had always been clear about what I wanted and for that reason, I do not regret any decision ", concludes Longoria saying on her website.

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