Mexican divers Alejandra Orozco and Gabriela Agúndez advanced to the finals of the women’s 10-meter platform competition at the Paris Olympics, giving Mexico a solid chance to add to its medal haul.
Orozco qualified for the finals by finishing fifth in the semifinal round, while Agúndez advanced to Tuesday’s final after completing the semifinal round in ninth place.
¡En busca de la gloria! 💦
Alejandra Orozco y Gabriela Agúndez, avanzan a la final de plataforma 10 metros en estos #JuegosOlímpicos de #Paris2024.
🔹Este martes van por la medalla. pic.twitter.com/IZWUx0PIxg
— CONADE (@CONADE) August 5, 2024
Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi, representing China, dominated the preliminaries and are expected to battle for the gold and silver medals after winning the gold in the synchronized 10-meter platform diving competition last week. Still, Orozco and Agúndez are legitimate medal contenders.
Orozco, one of Mexico’s flag-bearers at the Opening Ceremony, is a three-time Olympian with silver and bronze medals to her name. The Jalisco native was just 15 years old at the 2012 London Games, where she teamed up with the legendary Paola Espinosa to win a silver medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform event.
Agúndez, also a medal winner, is competing in her second Olympics. She and Orozco brought home bronze medals after coming in third in the synchronized 10-meter platform competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
At the Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre on Monday, Orozco and Agúndez breezed through the preliminary round, easily qualifying in the top 18 to advance to the semifinals. Orozco finished in a tie for fourth place while Agúndez placed fifth.
In the platform competition, each of the 12 finalists must perform a dive from five of six different categories: armstand, forward, backward, reverse, inward and twisting. Tuesday’s final will begin at 7 a.m. Mexico City time.
With two silver medals, one bronze and another medal guaranteed in men’s boxing, the Mexican Olympic team has already outdone its medal haul from the Tokyo Games, where it earned four bronze medals.
Prisca Awiti earned silver in judo while Osmar Olvera and Juan Manuel Celaya teamed up to win silver in the synchronized 3-meter springboard event. Alejandra Valencia, Ana Paula Vázquez and Ángela Ruiz claimed a bronze medal in the women’s team archery competition.
On Saturday, Marco Verde advanced to the semifinals of the men’s 71-kilogram boxing competition, guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. Verde will face Great Britain’s Lewis Richardson on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the gold-medal bout.
Other Mexican athletes still competing for medals at the Olympics include runner Paula Morán who finished third in the women’s 400-meter race, thus qualifying for Wednesday’s semifinals. Also, Andrés Azcárraga advanced to the finals of the Equestrian Individual Jumping competition, which takes place on Tuesday.
With reports from El Economista, El Financiero and Aristegui Noticias
