The Colombian ex-skater and ex-cyclist Luz Mery Tristán was assassinated in the early hours of this Sunday.
The authorities have not given an official part of what happened. The first information indicates that the renowned ex-sportswoman was injured and later died.
(Luz Mery Tristán, the ‘thorn in the shoe’ of the Colombian leaders)
(What is known about the murder of Luz Mery Tristán: there is a suspect)
what is known
Preliminary versions warn that she was injured by her sentimental partner. Until now, the crime has already left a man captured, whose identity has not been revealed.
The Colombian athlete excelled in skating. In 1979, one of her best years, Tristán managed to be runner-up in the Nacional de Pereira, but then she won three Pan-American titles, an Ibero-American championship in Argentina and two third places in the World Cups in Italy and New Zealand.
Before the World Cup in Bello, Antioquia, he beat the record of the Italian MR Falgianni, for the 2,000 meters. Her record was 3 min 07 s 40 s. And she took the gold medal in the 5,000 meters by points.
Photo:
Instagram of Luz Mery Tristán
its beginnings
He came to skating because he always liked the sport. At school he played volleyball, basketball and put on skates, which weren’t the best. That’s why he asked an aunt who lived in the United States for them.
A friend was playing hockey, saw her skating and took her to the League. There she was received by Carlos Zota, her first technician in the Valley. Her parents accepted that she train, but they warned her that if she did not perform in her studies she could not continue.
“The problem with skating is the lack of support. The athletes of the Valley need a skating rink,” Tristán said at that time, it was on 39th and ninth street, for race skating. A very dangerous track; so much so that they called it the ‘slaughterhouse’.
In 1980 he achieved his first titles in Cali. She won, that time, gold in the 500, 1,500, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, it was the first time that women competed. Her performance was like that of a man, as she trained with them. She had no rival in the country.
In 1981 he went to the World Cup in Belgium, where he was ranked 20th. Two years later he won gold at the Pan American Games in Brazil.
She was always an athlete who fought for the best conditions for athletes, which is why several leaders saw her as a ‘thorn in the shoe’.
“I try to seek help through other means and they don’t forgive me for that. The League itself has accepted that the level is not global in nature”, he stated.
He changed club and league, because he didn’t go with the coach, Zota. For this reason, because of his rebellion, he left to look for better horizons. He went to Risaralda.
The private company always supported it from the beginning. She married Mario, her husband, her companies supported skating.
The problems continued. They attacked her a lot because Luz Mery fought for her, for others, and shared with her. She felt persecuted.
He liked languages. He knew English, learned Italian and made friends. He went to the Italians and he stayed for three months. He learned to improve his technique and suffering ability.
He trained and competed in Europe. She was behind, but improved. They told him that they were training a person who was going to beat them later. So it was.
Cycling
Due to the envy, the intrigues and the attacks he received, he decided to go cycling. He arrived in 1986 due to differences with the skating leaders and left for the cranks and pedals.
She rode a bicycle, but it was not her sport. She always went ahead, she rolled evenly. She went for a checkup and she stayed. The conditions weren’t the best, but she was pedaling.
But for her cycling came first. Luis Herrera dominated the mountains and she became fond of it.
She was invited to participate in a women’s cycling team led by Efraín Forero Triviño, the ‘Zipa’, to compete in the Tour de France, something that was not traditional in the country.
It was in 1986, a race that was won by Maria Canins, an Italian skier who, at 37, returned as the defending champion of the event.
The Colombian team was made up of Rosa Emma Rodríguez, who was the best, finishing in box 68.
Tristán was 23 years old, she was a rookie, but she defended herself in the best way, and finished in square 70.
Rosa María Aponte, the ‘Smurf’, was 76; Libia Ortega and Flor Inés López also ran.
the victories
He was born in Pereira on July 1, 1963, but a month later his parents moved to Cali, the land where he grew up.
At the suggestion of a friend, Tristán joined the Skating League and it soon began to pay off.
Photo:
Instagram of Luz Mery Tristán
He achieved the national title in 1980; That prompted her to continue in that sport, which is why she dominated skating for those years.
After competing in the Tour, the Colombian came to speed skating.
In 1987, in Bogotá, he surpassed the current record for the 2,000-meter event by 16 seconds, and lowered the record in the 500-meter race by 59 thousandths of a second.
He went to the Pan American Games in Indianapolis and won gold in the 5,000 meters and won bronze with the relay team. And in Bello he was gold in the 5,000 meters.
After her retirement, Luz Mery Tristán dedicated herself to personal work.
He launched a line of sports clothing on the market and created a skating school in Cali that bears his name and which has given several athletes from Valle del Cauca the opportunity to go to various international competitions.
Within this group of outstanding athletes are Daniela Mendoza, Rommy Muñoz, Sebastián Garcés and Johana Viveros.
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2023-08-06 16:58:45
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