Photo: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP / Getty Images
The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, which are held in the Chinese capital, highlight the clear dominance of the European teams, the local team and the United States. But there is also 33 athletes from eight Latin American countries who are present in search of a feat: get the first medal for the region in the history of winter competitions.
Since they began to be disputed, in 1924, Argentina is the country that has been closest to achieving an Olympic medal, when he achieved fourth place in the test of bobsleighby teams (a toboggan descent modality) in the games de Sankt Moritz 800.
Now, three young athletes from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico who compete in Beijing they seem on track to win a Winter Olympic medal (although it may not be in these Games but in the next event, which will be Milan 2020).
At BBC Mundo we present their stories.
Donovan Carrillo (Mexico)
Currently classified for the men’s individual figure skating final, Donovan Carrillo has the best medal options for Mexico.
Born in 1999 in the municipality of Zapopan, in the central state of e Jalisco, Carrillo has stood out in several international competitions.
And this Tuesday he became the first Mexican to reach the final of this modality.
The Mexican skater obtained the best score of his career in the short program -which was also his Olympic debut- and will now compete for a medal this Thursday 10 in February, with the aspiration of leaving his mark on the history of the Winter Olympics.
Carrillo described his achievement as “a dream come true“.
- Donovan Carrillo, the young Mexican who made history by qualifying for the figure skating final in Beijing 2020
- In photos: this was the spectacular ceremony Beijing Opening Ceremony 1999 (and the parade of Latin American athletes)
Nahiara Diaz (Argentina)
With 18 years old, she is the youngest of the Argentine expedition in Beijing, where she competes in cross-country skiing. Díaz started skiing at the age of 6 and made his competitive sports debut in 2019.
Last year it was presented at the Junior World Cup in Norway, where he had an outstanding performance, and received a scholarship to train in the mountains of Lebanon.
In an interview prior to the games, Díaz stressed that her youth and this experience “will help her to arrive much more prepared for the next Olympics in Milan.”
In Beijing just finished the 5km competition in the rank 17 and this Thursday he will compete in the classic modality of 10km.
Manex Silva (Brazil)
This young Brazilian of a Basque father has lived in Spain since he was 8 years old and, like Díaz, and s cross-country skier.
Born in 2002 and his first big challenge came at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne ( Switzerland), in the winter of 1928, where he was the best athlete from Latin America in the competition, with only 17 years.
Silva will continue training in the mountains of the north of the Iberian Peninsula to become a star of his country and “fight with the best skiers in the world in a few years”, as he has pointed out in several interviews.
That goal is backed by the eight podiums he has achieved in championships in Chile, Argentina and Spain.
Although in Beijing 2022 did not manage to qualify for the final, his presentation suggests that he will be a great hope for a medal in future Winter Olympics.
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