Mexico City /
Ana Paula Vázquez, national archery team and bronze medalist for women’s teams at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, walks as a reference in the discipline, because in addition to winning the medal in the French capital, He also participated in the Tokyo 2020 fair, but before all this, he played American football.
The archer has gone from being a promise to a realityhis determination to shoot arrows and his successes in World Cups, Pan American and Central American Games give him the recognition he deserves today.
In addition to archery, from a very young age, Ana Paula Vázquez is a fan of American footballIn fact, his intention was to venture into flag football and not archery, as he expressed it exclusively to MILLENNIUM-The Hobbyafter participating in the Prota Bowl, organized by Tv Azteca.
How did you feel when you changed sports?
I really like tochito, in fact I played American football for a long time when I was younger. Then I changed to tochito when I just turned 12, but at that time I was not an Olympian, I was not very visible, He didn’t support himself much. I was 11 or 12 years old or so and they told me, until you’re 15 you can play an official match well. That’s when I switched to archery, because in Tochito they told me: ‘There you look, you’re very small.’
Would you have stayed in the tochito if your age had allowed it?
If you ask me if Tochito hadn’t told you you need to be 15 to get into your first game, I’m stuck, I don’t know what the story would have been like, But I know I’m not that bad. If they ask me: ‘Would you change from Archery to Tochito?’, I would say no, because I already understand Archery, I already live it, I feel that it is part of me.
Would you have liked to participate with the flag football team?
I would have loved to be part of the tochito team, It would have been incredible to wear the Mexican flag on Tochito’s uniform, I would have been fascinated, but it wasn’t our turn, maybe the story was told differently, maybe it wasn’t my turn, but yes, I would have loved it.
How is your preparation going for Los Angeles 2028?
I’ve had a few bumps in the road, but it’s not complicated enough for me to give up. I want to stand out at an international level again, I haven’t done it in a long time, more than in the Olympic Games, maybe‘Why not a World Cup?’, could be the scenario, also the Central American Games, ‘Why not?’, I want that again, it is one of my goals.
Do you feel pressure to be one of the favorites?
Yes, it feels like some pressure, some responsibility, but we also have to understand and see the reality that it is our job. Yes it is a responsibility, but I think that if we archers think, as we should think, which is the arrow we are shooting and not the one we already shot, the medals come alone. And that’s what happened in Paris and I don’t know, I think for me it’s one of the best ways to do it, to repeat it.
Do you see yourself in Los Angeles 2028?
I’m going to work to go, but I don’t know if I’m going to attend. And if I’m not going to shoot, I’m going to see. There are going to be many Mexican people who we need to support our own. And now, speaking as an athlete, we need you to support us. I think it may be one of the best Olympic Games with one of the best results, simply because there will be more Mexicans. I can affirm it.
How do you rate the new CONADE administration?
I see it better. He is very good, the truth is I recognize him a lot, I know that he is a little closer to the athletes and that he is also listening to them more; But personally I need to be a little closer to myself, but even so I think it is improving, I think there is this desire to grow and it helps us, so I see it well.
The Key
- Flag football will have its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, where Mexico has a good chance of winning gold.
- If she qualifies for Los Angeles 2028, Ana Paula Vázquez will be experiencing her third Olympic Games; won bronze in Paris 2024.
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MGC
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