The cyclist Martha Bayona became the first member of the Colombian delegation to repeat the gold medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
Bayona won the speed test this Friday, defeating the Mexican Yuli Verdugo in the final. The Colombian lost the first heat, but a complaint caused the victory to be taken away from her rival, then she won the second and achieved a very important victory.
“I am very happy, it is a pride to leave my country at the top, thanks to my coach who told me how to run,” Bayona told Antena 2.
Bayona had just revalidated this Wednesday the gold medal in the keirin modality, an event in which she has been world runner-up on two occasions.
That day, Bayona accelerated to become the leader of the peloton of the group of five cyclists until crossing the finish line of the Peñalolén Velodrome first.
After receiving his well-deserved and hard-fought medal and in front of the media, Bayona thanked his coach, John Jaime González, for his victory. “I think we were very connected in the race, it was clear that I did everything he told me and well, I was on top of the podium. Proud to give this medal to my country,” she said then.
The 28-year-old athlete also said that when she saw Gaxiola “going very fast” on a track that she described as “fast”, she took a breath, stood on the pedals “and gave my best until the line.”
News in development.
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