PARIS —
Mexico’s hopes of returning to the Olympic podium in race walking vanished on Thursday on the streets of Paris.
Alegna González improved her personal best but finished fifth in the 20-kilometer race at the Olympic Games.
Gonzalez, 25, clocked 1:27:14 and finished in the same place at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
“I don’t know how to describe what I feel. I wanted to give my best, but I didn’t achieve my goal,” said Gonzalez. “I never gave up, I fought every kilometer and it didn’t work out.”
Mexico has not had a presence on the race walking podium since Rio 2016, when Guadalupe González won a silver medal in the 20 kilometers.
The discipline became one of the most successful in Mexican Olympic sports. Ten of the 11 Mexican medals in athletics at the Olympic Games went to this sport, which gradually lost ground to other sports such as diving.
After his outstanding performance in his first Olympic Games, González arrived in Paris carrying in his suitcases the hope of returning the Mexicans to the forefront of a sport in which they were briefly a world power.
In Los Angeles 1984, Mexico won two gold medals and one silver in the discipline.
“I’m not sad, but I am angry with myself because I came with a specific goal and I didn’t achieve it,” said the annoyed Mexican.
The gold medal in the event went to China’s Jiayu Yang with a time of 1:25:54, the silver went to Spain’s María Pérez, with 1:26.19, and the bronze went to Australia’s Jemima Montag, with 1:26:25.
Unlike what happened in Tokyo, where she made her Olympic debut and performed a conservative test, the Mexican was more aggressive, but it was not enough because the Chinese and the Australian dominated almost from start to finish.
“I am calm because I did what I had to do. Unlike three years ago, I did take risks now. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to be a more competitive Alegna and I saw that happen, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough,” she added.
González was the best representative of her country in both the men’s and women’s categories, but that is not enough to make her feel happy.
“That takes second place. I am an individualist who sets big goals,” he added. “I don’t focus on my teammates, I don’t usually pay attention to that.”
In the men’s event, the most outstanding was Noel Chama, who finished 13th. In the women’s event, after González, the best was Alejandra Ortega, who finished 24th.
González could still add his name to the list of other Mexican medalists in his sport because he still has the mixed event to make its debut at this event.
“I have to be careful, I already had the individual test and I had this result and I am still angry, but I have to improve,” she added. “I have to get this anger and this annoyance out somehow because I don’t want to leave these Games without a medal.”
