Five years earlier, in Rio 2016, Alejandra Valencia, then 21 years old, was one step away from winning what could have been his first Olympic medal after fall in the duel for the Bronze against the Korean Bo Bae Ki in a participation that instead of collapsing it became a new starting point.
In Tokyo 2020, Ale returned to the Olympic joust already more established, with a polished technique after channeling his mistakes and already as leader of the Mexican archery team, so that fighting for medals was his only goal, something he achieved at the hands of Luis Álvarez in the mixed event by beating the Turkish duo of Mete Gazoz and Yasemin Ecem Anagoz 6-2.
“When we were on the podium it was a ‘we did it, it was achieved’. What I felt when I saw the flag was the respect that raising the flag entails and how beautiful we achieved it, “said the Sonoran woman, who as an individual was 12 millimeters away from obtaining a second medal after falling to the American Mackenzie Brown.
“No (he feels satisfied with the medal), I know we can achieve more and that is why we already have our sights set on Paris”, He commented on a visit to Mediotiempo.
Leaving a school, his greatest legacy
Although retirement is an issue that it does not contemplate, Valencia is clear that with what has been done so far you can already think that it helped to consolidate a discipline that in 2003, when he entered her, she was barely mentioned.
After the medals of Aída Román and Mariana Avitia in London 2012, as well as his with Grandfather in Tokyo 2020 and the great participations in World Championships, Alejandra is proud that the people who come to Archery are growing in number.
“If you ask right now ‘do you know what archery is?’ At least they will answer ‘yes, you shoot an arrow’. I have been part of the growth of that sport, part of that history. We made it grow by doing what we like, representing Mexico at an international level ”, he commented.
Grandpa and the worrying two-point arrow
In the battle for the Bronze medals against the Turks Mete Gazoz y Yasemin Ecem Anagoz, within the second set, the Baja California Luis Álvarez launched an arrow that only gave Mexico 2 points, which made all those Mexicans who watched him on television in the early hours of July 24, 2021 sweat cold, but especially him.
When it was thought the debacle would come, Grandfather took out that strong character that characterizes him and got up to make two 10x shots that returned calm to him, to his partner Alejandra Valencia and to all those who wanted to see them shine, and from there to direct the Bronze medal, the first of four that Mexico would achieve in Tokyo.
“The goal did not end in the stands because God is great, but at the end of the day the critical thing was not that arrow but the next two that entered “, recalled the nicknamed Grandfather in an interview with Mediotiempo.
“For an archer to leave like this could mean the end of the world, for about three seconds my life fell apart because personally I wanted to be a machine. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail, but how many times you get up. I felt that a piece of my soul was leaving”, He deepened.
The arrows of 10 were a sample of multiple factors that accompanied the Mexican duo, such as the ability to adapt to difficult weather conditions (heat and high wind), the communication between the two and especially that mental strength to stay ahead of such a difficult time.
“Thanks to Alejandra, her coach and mine, she was able to get out of that situation. It was a baptism of fire, but that’s how archery is, we do not depend 100 percent on our body, ”said Álvarez, who, like Valencia, had to train alone from the start of the pandemic and until March 2021.
“Tokyo was an unfriendly scene with many of us, with very adverse conditions, but you have to adapt to the situation,” he added.
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