- The 17-year-old athlete thanked his brothers for their support in training,
who are prominent practitioners in this discipline of martial arts.
PComing from a family of outstanding athletes, Guillermo Pérez Alvarez is a young promise of Magellanic judo. At 17 years of age, he has managed to win important national and international competitions, following in the footsteps of his older brothers, who are also top-level athletes in the same discipline and who have trained him for years.
“I started practicing this sport at the age of four and I did it because my older brothers already practiced it,” explains Guillermo, who adds that they are judokas José Ignacio Soto Alvarez, Sebastián Soto Alvarez and Jorge Perez Alvarez (who is on the national team). ), adding that they started in elementary school with sensei Adriana Chiguay and that they have had an outstanding career.
“With my brothers, since I was a child I have had a special plus because they have always taught me, so I have their style. That is support and they are equally demanding, ”says Guillermo, who currently trains with his older brother, José Ignacio, at Club Bushido.
Guillermo recalled that he trained until he was eight years old, when he had to stop practicing due to an injury, and he resumed it at the age of twelve, and since then he has sought to continue training, although he acknowledges that the pandemic meant that he stopped doing so. “Currently I train at the Bushido Club, with my brother and I do physical preparation at the Fiscal gym with Manuel Vera,” said the young athlete.
Regarding his career, he says that at the 18 de Septiembre School he was part of the Crecer en Movimiento Program and in 2019 he entered Promesas Chile Infantil Training and in 2021 he joined Promesas Chile Juvenil Training.
At the national level
“In 2019 I began to compete at the national level,” recalls the young man, indicating that that year he won first place in the Zonal Sur Panguipulli 2019 (under 15), in the Nacional Paihuano 2019 (under 15), in the Nacional Punta Arenas 2019 (under 15) and in the Binational Punta Arenas 2019 (under 15). He was also in the Sudamericano in Santiago 2019 (under 15), where he achieved seventh place, and in the 2019 National School Games (under 15), where he won third place.
While last year he achieved second place under 18 in the National 2022, fifth place in the Pan American and Oceania 2022 under 18.
In addition, last year he competed in a world championship held in France. He recalled that due to a technical problem he had to compete in a higher category (73 kilos) and despite this he was in seventh place. The competition brought together athletes from more than 90 countries in different disciplines.
These achievements respond to constant training, which must also be made compatible with their studies. He remembers that there were days when he left class at five in the afternoon and went directly to train at the Prosecutor’s gym at six.
Good regional level
He recognizes that it is a difficult sport to practice. “In the region there is a good competitive level and at a national level many medals have been achieved”, comments the athlete. He mentions that in 2020 they were at the Araucanía Games where most of the Magellanic athletes achieved first place, noting that that same year, due to the pandemic, they were not present in competitions in Argentina.
However, he warns that there is a lack of support to finance the competitions, especially at the international level, although at the regional level they have the support of multidisciplinary teams to be able to practice.
He trains eleven times a week, twice a day from Monday to Friday and once on Saturday. One hour of physical preparation and one of judo.
“This year I would like to achieve a South American or Pan American medal in sub 21 and I want to go to the 2023 Pan American Games for adults. That has been my goal for a long time and for that I have to win an adult national, there will be a specific one for this championship that will take place in September, ”he said.
