Paris France.
Born and raised in London, to a Kenyan father and Mexican mother, Prisca Guadalupe White Alcaraz She ‘signed’ for her maternal homeland in 2017 to become one of the best judokas in the -63 kg category, declared a medal candidate at the Paris-2024 Games.
“The mix has taught me a lot about life, we had many cultures in the house, it was very nice,” Awiti recalls about her childhood, in full sporting maturity at 28 years old.
At the beginning of February he was part of the Mexican team that participated in the ‘Paris Grand Slam’, the prestigious event that brought together 15,000 spectators at the Bercy Arena, on the banks of the Seine.
On July 26, barring ‘tragedy’, Awiti will parade nearby.
It will show off the colors of the Mexican flag on the delegation boat during the river walk at the elegant and unprecedented opening of the 2024 Games.
“I always love coming here. “I’ve been walking and I’ve felt the ‘vibes’, I haven’t wanted to concentrate too much on the Games, there are still competitions, but everything is very nice,” he points out about the Campo de Marte Arena, the temporary facility that will host the judo at the Games, located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Awiti did not shine at Bercy nor has he obtained great results in 2024, but he puts it into perspective a day later in his interview with AFP at the Paris Dojo, where the traditional international training is held with more than 500 judokas from all over the world.
“I feel that I trust myself more, I have done more camps with the best in the world and there is not much difference, I have medals in the Grand Slam, in the Grand Prix, fifth in the world… “I have the confidence to be among the best,” reports.
The tall judoka established itself definitively in the world elite in 2023: gold in the Central American and Caribbean Games, and bronze in the Pan American Games. She was also fifth in the World Championship and third in the ‘Grand Prix’ of Zagreb.
– Change of nationality –
Daughter of a doctor and a yoga teacher, a knee injury and lack of Clear international perspectives made Awiti change sports nationality in 2017, joining the national team of Mexicoa country to which he moved permanently in 2021.
“My mom went to study in London and there she met my dad, They still live there, with my brothers. I always felt very Mexican because I went a lot since I was a baby to be with my family, on vacation or to spend a few months,” she explains.
With the tricolor flag he fulfilled his dream of playing in the Games, in Tokyo almost three years ago, in a ‘sad’ Olympic edition due to the lack of public due to the pandemic.
- But Awiti, the only Mexican representation in judo in the Japanese capital, she paid for the hazing and fell in her debut, against the Mongolian Gankhaich Bold.
“Always the goal for a judoka is to be a medalist. I debuted in Tokyo and now I’m going 100% for a medal. We have to get to the Games in the best shape and I hope to be well on the appointed day,” he explains.
In the last World Cup, disputed in Qatar in 2023, Awiti touched bronze, the best Mexican performance ever, a lesson that can help him in his conquest of Paris.
Finally she was fifth after a great journey in which she even defeated the 2022 world champion, the Japanese, in the round of 16. Megumi Horikawa.
“Being on the podium and listening to the Mexican anthem “It would be a dream come true,” sighs Awiti, proud repository of Mexican hopes on the tatami with views of the Eiffel Tower.
2024-05-11 04:47:17
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