Walker Alegna González obtains bronze and confirms her ticket to the Paris Olympics

of the writing

Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday June 4, 2023, p. a10

The walker Alegna González and Ismael Hernández, in modern pentathlon, raised their faces for the Mexican sport with a pair of bronze medals in competitions held on the European continent.

González confirmed his pass to the Paris Olympic Games by placing third in the Cantons International Grand Prix, which was held yesterday in La Coruña, Spain, while Hernández climbed to the podium in the World Cup finals. in Ankara, Turkey.

In the 20 kilometer event, the Chihuahuan walker became the first Mexican woman to win a medal in the Spanish competition. Ernesto Canto achieved it in 1989 in the men’s branch, but he did it in the 10 kilometers. The 24-year-old athlete stopped the clock at 1:26.52 and was 19 seconds behind the winner and double world champion, the Peruvian Kimberly García. Behind him followed the Chinese Wu Quanming.

The native of Ojinaga also improved her mark with which she got her ticket to Paris 2024 last March. That time, Alegna recorded 1:29.09 in Slovakia.

The Cantonese GP is considered, only behind the Olympic Games and World Championships, as one of the most important competitions for this discipline.

The walker, with this result, showed that she is one of the great hopes of the tricolor delegation for the summer fair.

The World Athletics Championships in Budapest (August) and the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile (October) will be the next stops for González Muñoz. The Central Americans, which start on June 23, are not in his plans.

In the men’s category, Jose Luis Doctor, who finished in sixth position, gave the minimum mark (1:20.10) heading to Paris 2024 with a time of 1:1937. His compatriots Andrés Olivas (1: 20.14) and Noel Chama (1: 20.40) finished in ninth and tenth place, respectively. The gold went to the Brazilian Caio Bonfim (1:18.29).

Meanwhile, Ximena Serrano, U-20 world champion, was crowned in the 10 kilometers in this same competition.

In Turkish lands, Ismael Hernández was very close to confirming his pass to the French event. In the last stop of the World Cup series, the Morelense registered 1,476 units and was only 20 points behind the Egyptian Mohanad Shahan, who with his first place won the only Olympic place that the contest granted.

In the female branch, Mariana Arceo did not have a good performance and was positioned in 18th place, last in the standings. The Jalisco native encountered difficulties in horsemanship, a test that deducted points from her in a tournament in which the Italian Elena Micheli was crowned.

Unfortunately they entered a horse that should not be in this competition and we had very bad luck; I go sadpublished the pentathlete on Instagram

On the other hand, the cyclist Yarely Salazar hung the gold metal in the omnium test at the Festival of Speed ​​in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, a contest that adds UCI points for the ranking International.

She finished at the top with a total of 162 units, a score well above that achieved by Kimberly Ann Zubris (129) and Adele Desgagnes (127), who completed the podium.

The Sinaloan, from the L391ON Legion of Los Angeles team, considered the best in the United States, has delivered very good results in a year in which she will seek to round off her great work with a pass to her second Olympics. Her path to Paris 2024 begins with the Central Americans in San Salvador.

For the Parisian joust, his priority is the omnium test, after in Tokyo 2020, due to a federative issue, he could not participate in this track category despite being the best in the country; she had to compete on the road.