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Alejandra Valencia: My only dream is to win a gold medal

Alejandra Valencia He was one of the few athletes who returned from the Tokyo Olympics with the satisfaction of having won a medal. She, along with Luis Álvarez, gave the Mexican delegation the first bronze medal right on the opening day of the summer joust; However, later the medals fell by the drip and in the end Mexico was only able to harvest four bronzes in total, falling far short of the 10 that had been predicted.

But beyond the poor collective participation, Alejandra shone in a personal way, since in addition to the bronze won, he was also very close to getting into the fight in the individual category, where he was in fifth position.

Now that the end of the year is approaching, Ale Valencia recounts everything he experienced and shares in an interview with MILLENNIUM-Hobby that He only has one wish for the next three years: gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

I am not 12 wishes, I only ask for one. Before 12 o’clock I separate from the family and I start to think about the good and bad that the year that is ending left me and I start to think about what I want from the year that is about to start, so I talk to myself. Last year we were only my mom, my dad, my sister and I, all locked up by the pandemic and Before the count started, I went out and focused on the medal, That was the wish for 2021, and it was fulfilled ”, he says about the wish he asked a year ago.

And immediately he adds: “One must ask for wishes with all his might and fight for them, for I only ask for one and I focus totally on that desire that is Paris 2024, and improve what we did in Tokyo, my dream is gold. “

18 years of efforts

From the age of nine Ale Valencia began to compete in archery. Little by little he has accumulated several successes in both the Pan American and World Games; However, the experience in Tokyo is the most important point of his career when he hung his first Olympic medal, in the third edition in which he competed.

“It was an interesting year. In sports it was a good year, you could say that it was perfect And not only because of the medal, but because as a women’s team we achieved many things, we shot very well in the competitions we had and right now we are ranked first and then the medal came in the Olympic Games.

“These two things make me happy, excited and proud, although one is never satisfied, because one always hopes and wants more, we are aware that we could improve and have had a better achievement, but I’ve been shooting for 18 years and knowing that I could win a medal for 13 years, so achieving it is, wow! “, indicates smiling.

The native of Hermosillo, Sonora, also says that there will be few competitions this 2022, but in which she competes she will seek to get on the podium.

“It will be a year of returning to the routine. After winning the medal there is that feeling of starting over. In the 22 there will not be so many competitions, but in which I participate the objective is the same, to get on the podium ”.

More support for athletes

About a month ago, former Mexican diver María José Alcalá arrived as Carlos Padilla Becerra’s successor as president of the Mexican Olympic Committee making history, as she is the first woman to preside over the COM.

In this way, two former Olympic athletes are in charge of the most important sports organizations in the country: María José at COM and Ana Gabriela Guevara at Conade. For this reason, Alejandra Valencia hopes that there will be a greater approach to athletes so that they know their needs.

“Athletes are experts in expectations and when these things happen there is hope. All we want is for them to pay more attention to what the athlete needs, not in what is ‘thought’ that is needed. It would be good if they asked us: are you comfortable working in this way and with this person? ”, Said the Olympic medalist.

And added that a balance is needed between supports and the demands placed on athletes: “That the real needs of the athletes are solved is a priority, because we are the ones who show up and hopefully we take into account what we need. This is a scale, according to what you support is what you are going to receive; qthat they don’t ask for more than they giveThis is teamwork and we will always do our best ”.

Mental health

This year, several elite athletes spoke out about the pressures athletes have and the need to take care of their mental health. Alejandra Valencia recognized that beyond the success of the medal, she also had very low moments this year that led him to work on this aspect.

“One of the things that left a bad taste in our mouth was in the team competition in Tokyo, we expected more, we knew we could, but things didn’t work out, it hurt a lot. And personally I had dark moments mentally that led me to think many things, but all that led me to work psychologically and to become stronger on the mental issue, “he said.

He also had losses due to the covid-19 pandemic: “Well, there were several difficult moments. Like most people in Mexico and in the world, we face the death of family members from covid, a very complicated disease that is not over yet, so we must continue to keep our guard up ”.

ZZM

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