Tokyo 2020: Mexico “a very robust delegation”

(ATR) Mexico’s third largest delegation in its Olympic history will be sent off for Tokyo next Monday, July 5, by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“It will be a very robust delegation with a great quality,” the president of the Mexican Olympic Committee (COM), Carlos Padilla Becerra, tells Around the Rings.

With its 160 athletes, Mexico is currently the third largest Latin American team for Tokyo after Brazil and Argentina.

The national record of Olympic participation was set at home with the Mexico 1968 Games with 272 athletes while in Munich 1972 Mexico attended with 174.

Padilla Becerra at the head of COM closes a relevant Olympic cycle with the brilliant performances of Mexican sport in the Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla 2018 and the Pan American Games Lima 2019.

The Olympic leader highlights other angles beyond the fact that the Mexican team will be one of the largest delegations in Latin America.

“Beyond the number, it implies quality because it is a generation that is already pushing,” comments Padilla who illustrates, for example, the unexpected absences of the emblematic María Rosario Espinioza (taekwondo), the most successful Mexican in Olympic Games, and Paola Espinosa (diving).

“The generational change is important because those of us who thought they were going to be in their last Olympic Games were not, and well, no way, that’s sport and we have to give way to the new generations,” he said.

Padilla declined to offer a medal forecast or a possible place for Mexico in the final classification by countries.

“We have a benchmark in front of us, which is the five medals from the Rio de Janeiro Games, which is the minimum we can aspire to,” he said.

In Brazil, Mexico won three silver medals and two bronze medals.

For Tokyo, Mexico’s hopes for the Olympic podium are once again centered on sports such as taekwondo, archery and diving. There also seem to be possibilities in cycling, golf, equestrian and in several athletics events.

“But don’t rule out soccer, baseball and softball” specifies Padilla who was elected for the first time at the head of the COM in 2012.

In baseball and women’s softball, Mexico qualified ahead of the United States, and in London 2012 Mexico was the Olympic champion in men’s soccer.

“It has been a long time since we took three teams to the Olympic Games,” said the official.

It is still expected that Mexico’s number for Tokyo 2020 can be increased with the pending places via world ranking in athletics, tennis, table tennis and swimming, while the Mexican Basketball Team is involved in a World Olympic Playoff.

Golfer Gabriela Lopez and diver Rommel Pacheco will be Mexico’s flag bearers for Tokyo 2020.

Padilla recalls that despite the coronavirus pandemic “work continued to face shortcomings and difficulties.” The same athletes improvised even at home so as not to lose physical conditioning. The state sports institutes in Mexico played an important role.

“Despite the atypical nature of these Games, all the regulatory and logistics parts that both the IOC and the organizers have designed to avoid contagion have been very successful so that they are healthy and safe Games

“From the very beginning of the postponement of the Games, the presidents of the NOCs had many and varied virtual meetings with President Thomas Bach and strategies were drawn up”

The first departure to Japan will be on July 7 with the softball team that will open the adaptation camp of the Mexican delegation in the city of Hiroshima.

Padilla thanked several Olympic Committees including the United States, Italy and Canada for their help in welcoming the Mexican Olympians in their preparation.

He also signified the decisive support of the sponsors, without which the trip to Tokyo of this “so robust” delegation would not have been possible.

Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez