“The more they screw me, the more I grow”: Guevara

In the face of criticism for her performance at the head of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport (Conade) and the meager harvest of the national delegation at the Paris Olympic Games, Ana Gabriela Guevara is unfazed. On the contrary, the former sprinter defiantly confronts her detractors: “The more they screw me, the more I grow.”

In a press conference that lasted almost three hours, the Sonoran defended herself from the accusations against her and assured that she has nothing to hide just a few weeks before her term ends. “It has been a great challenge because of all the attacks, insults, slander and media deceptions that I have faced.

I was the spoiled child when I was an athlete and now I am the person who is being stoned.” Three days after closing the curtain in Paris, she responds head-on to those who question her lack of closeness to the athletes. “Nothing suits them. If I go, bad; if not, also. Going to Paris was a right that I have as Minister of Sport. My role was to ensure that my troops have the right things and to solve any problems that arose.

I didn’t take anyone’s place and it wasn’t my role to put pressure on the selected players.” The Olympic and world medallist is not surprised that every step she takes is subject to public scrutiny. That’s why she was not worried about being photographed while eating in a restaurant or on her first-class flight home. “I paid for everything out of my own pocket and I already asked for the receipts.

“What I earn I spread, I eat or I wear it however the hell I want. I don’t have a husband or a wife (sic), nor anyone to whom I have to be accountable or give explanations,” she said. Guevara, who arrived at Conade in 2019, said that she travels in first class on medical prescription.

“I have had a lower back injury since 2006 and I have to travel like this on flights lasting more than five hours.”

An honorable performance

Although the forecast of surpassing the nine medals collected in Mexico 1968 was not met, he considered that the performance of the athletes in the Paris Summer Games was decent. “It was an honorable participation that fulfilled the minimum expectation of five medals. However, there were medals pending and we had results that did not convince us,” he said. He criticized the media’s harassment of the athletes.

Defiant, the former sprinter gave a lecture where she gave her assessment of the national delegation that went to the Paris Olympics. Photo by Cristina Rodríguez

“It was disheartening to see the distraction that was created by forcing them to go through the mixed zone while the competition was still going on. They were asked questions that generated anxiety and concern. It was not the right thing to do, regardless of their agreements with the television networks.”

Taekwondo was lacking

“My chest is not a warehouse,” said the director of Conade when asked about the poor performance of taekwondo in the Games. “The truth is that they failed us and, for the second consecutive cycle, they returned without a medal.” Guevara criticized the performance of the discipline to which 175 million pesos have been allocated in the last cycle.

“The president of the Federation will be the one to be held accountable. Regarding the fight with Carlos Sansores, I think he lacked grit in his fight. I didn’t see a world champion on the mat, he lacked a cool head. I wish we had more Marías Espinozas to win medals.”

Regarding aquatic sports, the head of Mexican sports assured that despite the legal conflicts faced by the Swimming Federation, medalists Osmar Olvera and Juan Celaya will receive the promised prize for reaching the podium.

“They never got involved in any problems and they were the ones who won the medal, which shows that the others were affected by the extra-sporting conflicts.”

He will ask for an increase in scholarships

Before his term at the head of CONADE ends, Guevara will send an initiative to request an increase in the scholarship for Olympic medalists. “What they are granted is below the parameters, so an analysis was made to send a proposal for an increase to the Executive. In the end, it will be the Ministry of Finance that will have the final say.”

It is a case of empathy and justice, because many colleagues depend on that money to live.” Regarding the possibility of former diver Rommel Pacheco or former goalkeeper Moisés Muñoz assuming the command of CONADE, he preferred not to comment. “I have no opinion on the matter, nor have I sought a meeting with the virtual president-elect to discuss the matter. What I am concerned with now is preparing everything for the Paralympic Games that begin in two weeks.”