“Return to Lima the capital of sport” is the dream of Alberto Valenzuela, president of the Lima 2019 Legacy Project, and of all the personnel in charge of keeping alive the sports venues that the Pan American Games left us.
After the resumption of the competitions, some in a virtual way such as the U-17 World Weights World Cup and others in person with international guests such as the Judo Open and the South American Badminton, Valenzuela was encouraged to take stock of a complicated year, but one that he did not end up canceling the dream, just putting it off.
– How does it feel to return to face-to-face international competitions?
It is what we have dreamed of during all these pandemic nights. We have been working, keeping the venues and logistics ready, above all so that the federations fulfill their international commitments. For us it is a great satisfaction to see that, after so many months, the athletes have continued to prepare and with great emotion the international championships are restarted.
– They had to reinforce the protocols …
The protocol of the venues is very strict. There are visitor controls from the entrance. These controls are coordinated with local and international federations under the regulatory framework that they have, complying with the highest biosafety standards. The athletes come with their respective tests.
– How did you find the athletes who were finally able to compete?
I was recently with the judo team and they are truly a source of pride and inspiration. I saw them with great enthusiasm and very motivated to play at home, despite the pandemic. The same was with the weightlifting guys, who got a lot of medals. I am sure that everyone will raise the name of the country.
– What other tournaments or activities are coming up?
We have just had an athletics control in the senior category, one that gives points in the world ranking and is one of the qualifying modalities for Tokyo 2020. In the same way, we have velodrome and BMX cycling events, also important controls. In fact, many of these athletes who will come from the interior will stay in the new hostel of the Athletic Stadium. There is also the U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup.
By January we are ready for the citizen integration days. High performance will begin to attract citizens who want to play sports at a high level.
– What is your final balance for 2020?
The greatest satisfaction is that we ended the year with venues in splendid conditions, but the logistical deployment will never be able to replace the motivation of seeing young people, under 17 years of age, train at the venues. Nothing we have done is more rewarding than seeing a new generation of athletes born, a generation of the bicentennial in sport.
– Have the changes in the Government affected?
We have all been affected this year. In the budget we were greatly affected. Despite the cuts, we have had the support of the Peruvian State, regardless of the government.
– Virtual tournaments have been successful. Do you see possibilities for this type of competition to become more common in the future?
The Weightlifting Federation had a very good initiative in this regard. Organizationally, it has the difficulty of not being with the public and not having the athletes in person, but it is compensated by other attributes such as cost reduction, the country image in what is development of events, more agile formats for television . It has been a good experience and I think it has become a format to take into account.
– What objectives does the ‘Equal in life, equal in sport’ campaign seek?
It was heard a lot in the corridors that women did not have the same opportunities as men, for example, sponsorships for male athletes do not have the same level for female athletes. In the same way, we found that there was no strategy to promote the participation of women in high-performance sports.
We decided to start this campaign. We are looking for the Minister of Women and other entities to promote the exhibition and dissemination of the messages of our athletes and for athletes in order to inspire boys and girls within a framework of a campaign of coexistence and equality. We want to reach the bicentennial with a much more egalitarian system.
– Gustavo San Martín pointed out that the IPD is capable of managing the Lima 2019 venues. What is your opinion on this?
At the time we salute the great advance that was made in the IPD. I think it’s very good for the whole sports system. There is a coordinated work with the IPD.
– What state is the Pan American Village in? Will you continue treating COVID patients?
Although occupancy levels have dropped, the town is part of the contingency against an eventual second wave. In that sense, the social security has asked us, even unofficially, to evaluate the permanence until after December. However, we are ready to meet our medalists once the villa is returned to us.
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