Tricolors teach us lessons about resilience again. Since last Saturday, when competitions in different modalities began on the stages of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, the three have won medals that have delighted Ecuadorians.
The first was Andrea Rojas, with bronze in speed climbing. They are followed by the taekwondo duo Kattlen Jerves and Mario Troya with another bronze medal. And yesterday, Ecuador won silver with Richard Carapaza in the cycling time trial.
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Like them, another 173 Ecuadorian athletes arrived in Santiago overcoming countless obstacles. The Ministry of Sports submitted incomplete and late resources; Uniforms and plane tickets were bought at the last minute, so the flights were multiple and long. In addition, they had urgent cash needs to pay for excess luggage for competition bikes, surfboards, canoe equipment, in short.
The original forecast was that the Ecuadorian delegation would reach 200, but as in previous years and competitions, many athletes did not have the means to travel to the qualifying competitions.
Weightlifters Víctor Garrido and Jefferson Ramírez, the first Ecuadorians to compete in the finals of the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023 this Saturday.
This disorder is not exceptional, it is repeated. The same thing happened at the Pan American Games in Lima, the funds were not delivered on time, and dozens of athletes arrived at the competitions with the minimum necessary.
On March 18, 2022, the government signed an executive order declaring sport a public policy and stated in a statement that “funding, especially for high-performance sports and training, is critical.”
Richard Carapaz and his historic debut at the Pan American Games: I am happy with the result and proud of the support
Today we have almost two hundred athletes in Santiago de Chile who exceed their goals and offer their triumphs to Ecuador. Support for sport must be a reality and must be seen as an investment, because its results are not only in the field of health and well-being, but also as a source of development, economic growth and social inclusion. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
