Colombian Andrea Ramírez assured this Sunday that after winning a bronze medal at the Taekwondo World Championships in Guadalajara, her priority will be to work to be a protagonist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“They were very strong rivals, especially the one from Thailand (Julanah Khantikulanon), who won a medal at the World Cups in Manchester; the gold medal, we were just a little bit away from achieving it, but we continue working for the goal that is Paris 2024,” said the fighter of 46 kilograms.
Ramírez, bronze from the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, secured her medal by defeating Khantikulanon, the Indonesian Ni Kadek Heni and the German Sueheda Celik without rounds.
In the semifinal, the Colombian lost to Croatian Lena Stojkovic, who won the gold medal.
“In the eliminatory I had superiority in the first two rounds; it was something that helped me to reach the semifinal strong, but it was not possible,” she added.
In addition to Ramírez, on the last date of the Iberoamerican World Championships she added another medal with the bronze of the Mexican Brandon Plaza in the 58 kilos, when he fell in the semifinal against the Italian Olympic champion Vito Dell’Aquila.
“The Italian is strong, I left motivated by the whole environment. It was not possible, but we are going to move on; I have to prepare more because this does not end here, it was not a mistake in my technique, but he found the leg very well forward,” he explained.
Plaza, 26, said that being the last of his delegation to compete made him tired due to nervousness and the pressure of seeing several of his teammates win medals.
“It was seven intense days, for me it was exhausting to be the last, but giving them this medal is worth it,” he said.
The Ramírez and Plaza medals completed the outstanding performance of Ibero-America, which won 14 medals; three gold, one silver and two bronze from Mexico, champion by nations, one gold, two silver and two bronze from Spain; a silver and a bronze from Brazil and the bronze from Colombia.