“My family and judo are my life”

He affirmed that he thanks the directors of the Northeast Sports Gallery of Fame for immortalizing him in the discipline of Judo

The twenty-eighth Exaltation Ceremony of the Northeast Sports Gallery of Fame elevated to immortality the brilliant judoka, José-El Toro-Vásquez, who gave great moments of glory to the national sport in national and international fairs.

The activity was recently carried out at the Northeast Regional Theater, where other athletes were also recognized. He “Toro Vásquez” was accompanied by his wife, the former national Judo team, Leidy Germán and her two daughters.

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Very excited

The gentleman ex-judoka, when talking with TODAY, thanked the managers of the Nordestano Sports Gallery, for taking him into account to be immortalized. “When I received the call, I shared it with my wife and my daughters and we felt very happy and happy, since the work of several decades begins to bear fruit, and we hope that this also extends to the National Sports Hall of Fame.
“Every athlete always aspires to reach the Hall of Fame,” he said.

his trajectory

After 17 years as a member of the superior judo team, José Eugenio Vásquez (El Toro) managed to seize the record for the most medals for an athlete of his discipline in the Central American and Caribbean Games.

His last participation in a regional event took place in Veracruz, Mexico, in 2014.

According to the memories until the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, in 2014, Vásquez holds the record for the most medals won in this type of event with a total of six (one gold, one silver and four bronze).

The beginning

The already retired athlete started judo in 1991 by accident. Vásquez attended a university competition in the discipline of taekwondo, his original sport, but since there was no opponent in his weight, he was convinced to compete in judo, receiving instructions on what he had to do. The result was the gold medal and the birth of the judoka. The judo coach also did school athletics, where he was champion in the shot put modality; he played basketball and was in baseball in the Liga Campesina.

his first medal

vasquez he won his first bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in 1998. “El Toro” revealed that in 1997 is when he begins to mature as an athlete and where his name is heard after the medal gold won at the National Games.

“I love my family, it is my center of life,” he said.