Mexico City. Mexico signed its best participation in the Paralympic Games since Athens 2004, culminating with 22 medals, which are broken down into seven golds, two silvers and 13 bronzes, after Rosa Carolina Castro obtained third place in the F38 discus throw yesterday.
This edition has also been historic for the country, surpassing 100 gold medals and 300 in general, after the athletes rose to the podium on 22 occasions. In addition, Mexico was located within the first 20 places of the medal table and will arrive in Paris in 2024 with 311 metals.
Five years ago, in Rio de Janeiro 2016, the tricolor won 15 medals, of which four were gold, two silver and nine bronze. It was the edition in which fewer metals were reached in a Paralympics since Atlanta 1996, when only 12 were achieved.
In London 2012, the national delegation added 21 medals. On that occasion there were only six gold, four silver and 11 bronze.
At the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, the tricolor achieved a fruitful harvest, with 20, including 10 gold, three silver and seven bronze.
The best performance in these jousts occurred 41 years ago, in Arnhem 1980 in the Netherlands. The representatives won 20 golds, 16 silvers and six bronzes, for a total of 42 medals and finished in ninth place in the summer competition. In addition, four years earlier, in Toronto 1976, 16 gold, 14 silver and nine third places were obtained to add 39 medals.
That performance is followed by Athens 2004, when the country achieved 14 gold metals, 10 silver and the same number of bronze, to culminate in 34 podiums.
In New York and Stoke Mandeville in 1984, 37 medals were won, of which six were gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze, while, four years later, in Seoul 1988, there were 24: eight gold, nine silver and seven third place.
In heavy rain, 19-year-old Rosa Carolina Castro gave the country its last medal at Tokyo 2020 by taking bronze in the F38 discus throw and surpassing the Paralympic record with 33.73 meters. “With having surpassed my mark and obtaining this medal for Mexico, I feel more than satisfied. I wish more people would get to experience it; fighting for this dream was incredible. This experience changed my life and I am speechless because of the emotion of representing my country ”, said the athlete.
He starred in a great competition by coming from less to more. In his first two attempts he achieved records of 25.22 and 28.58 meters to stay in the top three places.
Then she put pressure on her opponents, mainly Canadian Renee Foessel, by obtaining records of 32.07 and 32.21 meters. It was on his fifth pitch that the tricolor secured the bronze and in the last attempt he closed with 31. 23 meters.
The gold went to the Chinese Na Mi, after dominating the event from the beginning and setting a world record of 38.50 meters. Silver was won by her compatriot Yingli Li, who reached the same distance as the Mexican with 33.73 meters, but had a better second time.
Shortly before, Francisco Pedroza was one step away from the podium, after falling by a score of 18-4 against the Russian Zainutdin Ataev in the competition for the bronze medal, in the K44 +75 kilograms of taekwondo category. Daniela Andrea lost in the repechage of the quarterfinals against Iranian Rayeheh Shahab.
Swimming, the most fruitful discipline
In Tokyo, swimmers achieved the highest number of medals with 10, while in athletics eight were obtained.
The queen in this edition was Amalia Pérez, who became the top winner of the powerlifting, with six medals in the same number of participations, after lifting 131 kilograms in the category of up to 61 kilograms.
The swimmer Diego López Díaz was one of the most awarded, with gold in the 50 meters free S3, silver in the 200 free S3 and bronze in the 50 meters back S3. Jesús Hernández also took three medals, with a gold medal in the 150 meter medley SM3 and finished third in the 50 meter back SB2, as well as the 200 meter freestyle S3.
Athletes José Rodolfo Chessani (400 meters, T38) and Mónica Rodríguez (1,500 T11) were champions in their competitions, while swimmer Arnulfo Castorena climbed to the top of the podium in the 50-meter back SB2.
Juan Diego García shone with a gold metal at -75 kg in the K44 taekwondo category, while Gloria Zarza took silver in the F54 shot put.
Jesús Pérez (100 meters T52), Juan Pablo Cervantes (100 meters T54), Rosa María Guerrero (F55 discus throw) bronze and Rosa Carolina Castro (F38 discus throw) celebrated the bronze.
The swimmers Ángel de Jesús Camacho (50 meters back S4), Fabiola Ramírez (100 meters back S2), and Nely Miranda (50 meters back SB3) also reached the podium in third place.
In judo, Eduardo Ávila (-81 kg) and Lenia Ruvalcaba (-70 kg) increased their personal loot of medals in Paralympic Games by adding a bronze each.
.
