Idalys Ortiz from Cuba receives the silver medal in the over 78 kg division of the judo tournament, during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: Roberto Morejón/JIT.
Idalys Ortiz assured the International Judo Federation (IJF) that she will be ready to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The dream of winning her fifth medal under the five rings prompted her to make the decision: “There has been a lot of uncertainty for me because I didn’t know if I wanted to continue or just work until the Tokyo 2020 games. Ultimately though, I think I could come back and challenge for my fifth Olympic medal.”
Owner of gold in London 2012, silver medals in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and a bronze in Beijing 2008, The 32-year-old Cuban intends to match the Japanese Ryoko Tani, the only one to win five medals on the Olympic mats between 1992 and 2008.
The more than 78 kilograms would arrive at the Parisian appointment with 34 years, but He assures that he feels in a position to achieve the objective that has made him continue practicing the martial art.
“I consider myself trained to get the fifth Olympic medal. That is why I have decided to return to the tatami”, she acknowledged in the aforementioned IJF text.
With eight medals in world competitions (a pair gold), three times champion of the Pan American Games, 11 in the continental tournaments of the sport and more than 30 prizes in the World Judo Tour, Idalys not only She is among the best exponents of judo, if not among the best Cuban athletes in history.
To achieve a podium in Paris 2024, Ortiz would climb one more step on the pinnacle of Olympus the one who entered through the wide gate and where he will rest forever among the greatest.
(With information from JIT)
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Thank you Idalys!
