Yucatecan Gilda Cota triumphed in Paris, tells why silver “tastes like gold” to her

Gilda Guadalupe Cota Vera She had to wait patiently for each of the participants to pass in the women’s shot put event F33, at the Stade de France, to celebrate with her family Mexico’s twelfth medal in the 2024 Paralympic Games.

In the technical area, she could not hold back her tears in the face of so many emotions. And no wonder: No athlete born in Yucatan had ever won the right to climb onto the podium of the grand competition. And in “conventional” competitions, only one, the top scorer Henry Martín Mex.

With the tag of favorite, because the Mexican is the world record holder (8.23 meters, achieved last April in Veracruz), stood with confidence on the trackAfter a second false launch, he picked up the pace and set his greatest distance in the competition, which was 7.89 meters.

This was her participation in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Visibly nervous, The Yucatecan watched her rivals approach for more than an hourbut not surpassing the mark that allowed him to meet the predictions and climb onto the French podium with the silver medalfalling nine centimetres short of gold, which went to China’s Qing Wu, who cleared 7.98 metres.

The oriental, with a different and less severe condition than Gilda, was able to move better, in fact, she was the one in charge of holding on to the platform, contrary to the Mexican, who required the help of her trainer and assistant, Juan Paredes Tuffs.

Yucatecan Gilda Cota triumphed in Paris, tells why silver “tastes like gold” to her

“Triumph tastes like more than gold to me. It has been very complicated to get here. He suffering What I have is degenerative and we constantly struggle with many things. I am happy and grateful for Mexico’s support,” said the runner-up, excited.

Gilda Cota’s was the only medal won on the day for Mexico

READ: Yucatecan Gilda Cota Vera wins silver medal at Paris 2024 Paralympics.

What condition does Yucatecan Gilda Cota have?

Gilda, who was motivated to continue achieving success at an international level, shared the desire to, through her example, raise awareness about the multiple sclerosisillness that was diagnosed in 2020.

“Life surprised me one day and now I surprise lifeI would like to raise more awareness about the suffering from multiple sclerosis and work hard for Los Angeles 2028,” said Cota Vera, who will be at the awards ceremony this morning in Paris, early in Mexico.

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