Hoping to add to the two medals won earlier this week, Mexican athletes competed in archery, swimming, golf and several other events on Thursday, the sixth day of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As Thursday’s competitions wound down, Mexico stood 34th in the 2024 Medal Table with one silver and one bronze. Prisca Awiti surprised the sporting world by winning the silver medal in the women’s 63 kilogram judo competition on Tuesday, and the women’s archery team claimed a bronze medal on Sunday.
Results from day 6 of the Paris Olympics
The first Mexican athletes to perform on Thursday were Noel Chama, José Luis Doctor and Ricardo Ortiz who competed in the men’s 20 kilometer race walk. Chama finished 13th, while Ortiz was 14th. Unfortunately, Doctor was disqualified.
Next came Alegna González, Alejandra Ortega and Ilse Guerrero who represented Mexico in the women’s 20 kilometer race walk. González came close to earning a medal, finishing fifth with a time of 1:27:14, while Ortega completed the course in 24th place and Guerrero finished 38th.
Female boxer Fátima Herrera and sailor Elena Oetling suffered inglorious eliminations. Herrera lost by unanimous decision in her first-round match while Oetling finished 27th in the first heat of the women’s dinghy race.
Over at the Olympic swimming pool, Gabriel Castaño finished his preliminary heat in the men’s 50 meter freestyle event in fifth place, earning a spot in the 16-man semifinals with the 11th best time of the morning. However, Castaño did not qualify for the finals, finishing eighth in his semifinal heat.
In the individual archery competition, Carlos Rojas came up short in the first round of the men’s competition, while bronze medalists Ángela Ruiz and Ana Paula Vázquez were also knocked out in the first round.
Which Mexican athletes advanced?
Archery results were better for Matías Grande and Alejandra Valencia. Grande routed his Mongolian rival 7-1 in the first round, then defeated Colombian Jorge Enríquez 6-2 to advance to the round of 16. Valencia, a four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medalist, defeated both of her opponents on Thursday to advance to the round of 16.
Grande will resume his medal chase on Sunday while Valencia will face China’s Li Jiaman on Saturday.
In the equestrian team jumping event, Mexicans Carlos Hank, Federico Fernández and Eugenio Garza advanced to Friday’s final round after classifying in 10th place.
At the Golf National course in Paris, Mexican athletes Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz were among the 50 men competing for Olympic gold. Ortiz posted a score of 3-under par and is in sixth place, while Ancer finished his first round in 29th place at 1-under par with three more rounds to play.
What’s next for Mexico’s Olympians?
Several Mexicans will see their first action on Friday as track and field gets under way in earnest.
Diego Real will be competing in the men’s hammer throw and Uziel Muñoz will compete in the men’s shot put.
On the track, Laura Galván and Alma Delie Cortés will line up for the women’s 5000 meter race, while Jesús Tonatiú López competes in the men’s 800 meter race. In addition, Cecilia Tamayo will be in the starting blocks for a women’s 100 meter preliminary race.
At the Olympic diving pool, Osmar Olvera and Juan Celaya will be chasing medals in the men’s 3 meter springboard competition.
Elsewhere, Alejandra Zavala will participate in the women’s 25 meter pistol competition as well as the women’s 10m air pistol competition.
Also Saturday, Alejandra Valencia and Matías Grande will be participating in the mixed team archery competition. Valencia won a bronze in this competition at the Tokyo Games with Luis Álvarez as her partner.
On Saturday, gymnast Alexa Moreno will compete in the women’s Individual vault event.
Sunday will see two Mexicans in action.
In men’s boxing, Marco Verde faces India’s Nishant Dev in a quarterfinal bout in the 71 kilogram category, while Marcela Prieto will be competing in the women’s road race.
With reports from El Economista, El Universal, TV Azteca, Medio Tiempo and ESPN
