Between 2019 and 2022, Camila Figueroa (25) was on the verge of quitting judo.
She did not perform well at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. She had been defeated by a rival whom she had studied so intensively and prepared so well that, in her words, “she should never have beaten her.” But she beat him and it was such a painful defeat that after the competition Camila decided to take some time off and stop training.
When he resumed it the following year, the pandemic hit. And the next year, 2021, he contracted Covid and could barely compete internationally. The young Moquegua-born judoka says that at that time she was still mentally impaired, that “she wasn't quite right in the head” and that that's why she didn't train 100 percent.
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David Bardález won a bronze medal in Santiago in 2019. Faith is great. Photo: Distribution
So he decided that was it.
He went to his hometown and told his parents that he was giving up judo and starting studying physical therapy in Arequipa.
One day in early 2022, he returned to Lima to pick up his things. The judo team had a new coach, Sensei Justo Noda. The historic Cuban coach told her that he wanted to talk to her and assured her that if she followed his instructions and trusted him, she would be the Camila of old again and win a medal at the following Pan American Games.
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Camila says she decided to give herself one last chance. He started training like never before. And the results didn't take long to arrive.
First, a silver medal at the Bolivarian Games in Valledupar in June 2022.
And the following year bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago.
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Camila didn't start this tournament well. She says she came in “a little sleepy” and that’s why she lost the first fight, against the Puerto Rican Sairy Colon. In the repechage race, her coach brought her out of her drowsiness with a few well-placed shouts, telling her that they hadn't trained so hard to come away empty-handed. Motivated and full of adrenaline, she defeated Canada's Coralie Godbout in a minute and a half. And in the third bout, for bronze, she defeated her long-time rival – her coach joked she was “her sister” – Ecuadorian Vanessa Chala, whom she had never beaten before. Hence his emotions at the end of the fight. your tears. Today, two months later, Camila admits that what moved her most at that moment was not the bronze medal, but the victory over her old nemesis.
The young woman from Moqueguana, who initially disliked judo because it seemed a “very rough” sport, is about to join the list of 12 Peruvian athletes who have so far qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics. In the same situation there are his teammates Juan Postigos and Yuta Galarreta. In the coming months, Camila has half a dozen tournaments ahead of her where she could climb the rankings and sneak into the top 30 in her category. In the history of Peruvian judo there are only three Olympic representatives and none of them are women. This year she could be the first.
Looking for the Olympic journey
Saturday, October 21st last year, was a day full of mixed emotions for Peruvian weightlifters Shoely Mego (24) and David Bardález (27). Both took part in the Pan American Games in Santiago. First it was Bardález's turn, who, to the delight of the entire Peruvian weightlifting team, won the bronze medal in the 61 kilo category – and scratched silver. And then it was Shoely's turn in the women's 49 kilo category, which unfortunately came away empty-handed.
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Figueroa celebrated his bronze medal in Santiago full of emotion. It was revenge. Photo: Distribution
It was a day of mixed emotions for her as David and Shoely were together at the time. Since 2017, when both began their path to the national team. And as always, both were there to support each other. In sad moments. In the happy moments.
As of last Friday, January 5th, David and Shoely are married, husband and wife. They married in a small but beautiful ceremony in Moyobamba, the town where David grew up passionate about weightlifting from the age of three.
Today, based on their individual performance, but undoubtedly also because of the mutual motivation they instill as a pair, they are the only Peruvian weightlifters who have a serious chance of qualifying for Paris.
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David's career is long. It started at age 11 when a coach convinced him and his soccer friends to go to Moyobamba Coliseum to lift weights. In 2009, when he was 13 years old, he was called up to the national team. He moved to Chiclayo, where the national team trained. And there it stayed.
Shoely was born in Bagua Grande but grew up in Chiclayo from the age of seven. When she was 14 years old, then national coaches Gancho Mitev and Ivan Tsankov saw her at the school where she was studying and invited her to take part. She resisted for a long time, she says, until they finally convinced her.
In recent years, David has established himself among the top 3 in his category in Latin America, winning consecutive bronze medals at the Pan American Games of this discipline in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, as well as at the Bolivarian Games in Colombia in 2022. No These include his bronze medals at the Pan American Games in Lima 2019 and Santiago 2023.
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In April 2023, Shoely Vegas was ranked number 1 in the world in its category. Photo: Distribution
Shoely has only narrowly missed out on glory in the last two years: he won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships in Bogotá and three gold medals at the Pan American Championships held in Bariloche in March 2023. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in his category. In June, the IPD awarded him the Sports Laurels.
Although they still have some injuries that they brought with them from Santiago and from which they are gradually recovering, they have already returned to training at the CAR de la Videna, managed by the Special Legacy Project. The plan is to compete in the Pan American Seniors, which will be held in Venezuela in February, and then the Thai Grand Prix in March. The goal is to beat their scores (85 points in the snatch and 105 points in the clean and jerk in Shoely's case and 124 and 154 in David's case). His coach Alejandro Orosco says that although it is difficult, the possibilities are there. Shoely and David chose faith. For these newlyweds, the dream of arriving in Paris remains intact.
Data
- So far, twelve Peruvian athletes have secured their participation at Paris 2024.
- Historical. Francisco Boza is the Peruvian with the highest number of Olympic Games. He took part in eight competitions, from Moscow 1980 to Rio 2016.