The pain does not matter, but reaching the goal does: Benjamín Paredes

Being an Olympian is not for everyone. A winning mentality is required; resistance to failure and perseverance against everything. The pain of your body and your soul does not matter, what matters is reaching the goalsays Benjamín Paredes, who has competed in 40 marathons.

Marathon runners know this well, as they must travel more than 40 kilometers in often adverse conditions and fight against the desire to give up when their legs give out.

Many want to be Olympic, some can achieve it and others cannot. My dream began at the 1968 Mexico Games when I was seven years old, but I had to wait many more years to achieve it. The mentality is key to not abandon the goal, you must work daily without respitecommented the former marathon runner.

The Olympic team in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 shared his experience in high performance. It is a great responsibility to wear the colors of your country, to know that everyone is watching you and betting on you. It’s amazing to do that touradded Paredes, 62, during the Olympic Mentality forum organized by the United States embassy in Mexico and Arizona State University.

Benjamín, who trains runners, commented on the lack of results in his discipline.

Now they think that everything is easy, but they have not touched the most hidden fibers of their body to achieve their goal. There are always obstacles, but you have to overcome them. We have the legs, the heart and the desire. Better coaches and support, as well as Olympic technology, are required to reach the world’s elite. Mexicans are moving away from the best marks because they are 10 minutes away from the world record and in the 90s we were two minutes away.concluded Benjamín, who aims to run the Mexico City and New York marathons, where he achieved second place in 1994 when he went 1-2 with Germán Silva.

Desiree Linden, Boston Marathon winner and author of the book Choosing you runexpressed how gratifying it is to be part of a national representative.

When you compete with the best in the world you feel great happiness on a personal level because the marathon is a test of individual strength. I had a lot of support during my sports training and that helped me achieve the dream of going to games, something that very few in the world achieve..

Linden participated in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games and in 2018 she was the first American woman to win the women’s category at the Boston Marathon since 1985.

The Olympics changed my life, they taught me to be consistent and patient. During the tour you have to tell yourself as much as you can and be very dedicated because the small details make the difference. Being an Olympian is not just about thinking about a medal but about inspiring the people who see youadded the silver winner in the 10,000 meters at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

Sports historian Victoria Jackson, also a professor at Arizona State University, served as moderator.

It is incredible how sport can unite nations, bring athletes together and create role models like Desiree and Benjamin.

Jackson highlighted Linden’s more than two-decade career. It’s incredible, an all-rounder. Women have gained great spaces and surpassed their own limits over the years. There are no physical or mental barriers for them.