Mexican Cecilia Tamayo ended her participation in the Paris Olympic Games with mixed feelings: she could not be happy with her result, but she was happy with what her participation represented for athletics in her country.
Tamayo clocked a time of 23.65 seconds in the 200 meters and finished in last place in his qualifying heat.
“I fell a little short, I usually run the 200m better. The truth is I had a better level, but there are details and one has to learn from these races,” Tamayo told The Associated Press. “With these results, the fire to want to improve is even more lit.”
Tamayo hesitated at the start and ran behind her teammates in the qualifying round. Although she tried to finish strong, it was not enough.
“I’m still assimilating everything, I just finished racing, I have to look for that feedback and think about it a bit,” said the Mexican. “There were details at the start and on the straight that could have been better, but this is a work in progress.”
The 27-year-old sprinter said she will work on those details with the legendary Carl Lewis, whom she met while studying at the University of Houston and where the “Son of the Wind” became her coach.
“When I went to study in the United States, that’s when I started training with him. It’s been a great process. Day by day I learn things, I fall and I get up,” he added. “You never stop learning things when you’re in front of someone like that. That excites me a lot.”
Tamayo feels that she still has time to think about competing in another Olympic Games — in Los Angeles 2028 — to try to improve on what she achieved in Paris.
“There are still four years left in which many things can happen, but for now my goal and my idea is to go to Los Angeles,” he said.
She said her passion for speed began watching the Olympic Games on television when she was six, inspired by many athletes and knows that her achievements, although minor in the games, can inspire other girls in her country.
“It is important to be able to open doors and show that with discipline, work, mentality and dedication you can achieve your goals,” he added. “There are days when you are so focused that you forget, but there are others when you know that you inspire people. I love what I do and being an inspiration to someone gives me great joy.”
With her participation in the 100 and 200, Tamayo became the first Mexican to do so since Esperanza Girón did so at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
In summer athletics, Mexico has 11 medals. Ten of them are in race walking and the only one in sprinting was won by Ana Guevara, with a silver in the 400 meters in Athens 2004.
“We managed to make history for Mexico, it is something positive and it does not stop me from wanting more,” added Tamayo. “It is not the end, nor the beginning, it is just one more step towards where I want to go.”
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