Puerto Rico added a member to its delegation this Tuesday for the sport of archery, Alondra Rivera became the 24th athlete with a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The achievement was obtained in the 2024 Pan American Archery Qualifier that takes place at the Belén Sports Unit in Medellín, Colombia.
Her classification is historic, since she is the first Puerto Rican whose bow and arrow obtains the rightful place through a pre-Olympic. The remaining seven competitors (four men and three women) have competed by invitation.
The limit is two competitors per gender.
“I just do not believe it. This is an unexpected thing, although we have worked for this. It was shocking. I’m still processing it,” said Rivera, who is 22 years old, from Bayamo.
The athlete said that she had declared her classification in a share when she was in seventh grade. This accomplished goal comes with his recent graduation from the Bachelor’s Degree in Education at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras last December.
“When I was in seventh grade in the cadet category, I said in a sharing at my Papa Juan 23 school, specialized in science and mathematics, that I wanted to go to the Olympic Games,” confessed the archery instructor at the Specialized Sports School. Francisco Manrique Cabrera in Bayamón.
For the Puerto Rico Archery Federation and its president Jean Pizarro, Rivera’s classification is a significant achievement in “a dream Olympic cycle.”
“It is a historic moment for us. She is the first woman to qualify in her own right. It is not only a dream come true for her, but also for all of us. She made her dream come true, us as officers too. After 28 years without participating in the Olympic Games, returning to the Olympic program is great news for us,” said Pizarro, also the flag goalkeeper of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
Rivera earned her ticket by defeating her Puerto Rican teammate Nilka Cotto in the duel for the bronze medal and the Olympic quota, in a 6-5 tiebreaker. Her journey in the eliminatory rounds of the Olympic qualifier, the now member of the Paris 2024 Delegation defeated fellow Puerto Rican Brenda Bruno (6-4, round of 16), Camila Paredes from Bolivia (6-4, series round of eight) , to Adriana Espinosa from Ecuador (6-2) and in the semifinals she lost to the Canadian Virgine Chenier (2-6).
Puerto Rican archery participation in the Olympic Games began in Munich 1972 with the participation of Ferdinand Vega. At the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, the first woman competed in the representation of María del Carmen Medina and the archer Edgardo Berdeguer. There was a competitive break to return at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games with Ismael Rivera. An Olympic cycle later, Seoul 1988, Miguel Pedraza and Gloria Rosa compete. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Puerto Rico was represented by María Reyes.
List of classifieds:
- Jasmine Camacho Quinn – 100 meter hurdles
- Sebastián Rivera – Olympic wrestling
- Ashleyann Lozada – boxing
- Pedro Luis Fernández – sailing
- Maycey Vieta – nailed
- Emanuel Vázquez – nailed
- National Women’s Basketball Team (+12)
- Darian Cruz – Olympic wrestling
- Ethan Ramos – Olympic wrestling
- Jonovan Smith – Olympic wrestling
- John Lopez, Jr – Boxing
- Alondra Rivera – recurve archery
2024-04-10 14:25:27
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