by The recent and surprising changes in the sports portfolio in the midst of the presidency of Gustavo Petro have generated immediate concern among those directly affected, the athletes. Between one modification and another, those who are most affected are those who, according to Mariana Pajón, so far in 2023 have not received the support they would like.
This affects the preparation of many coffee athletes for upcoming competitions, as well as the possibility of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
As a spokesperson for his colleagues, in the last hours he made known the concern of several in an interview with Snail Radiothere he explained that in his personal case he has had to bear the costs because he cannot sit ‘idly by’ waiting for the government.
“It worries me because the issue for support was behind schedule. We do not know if it is the Federations or the Olympic Committee. I already started the Olympic qualification and Everything has been out of my pocket, I have traveled because I cannot stay waiting for what happens in the country or in the Ministry and we ran out of quotas. I think that many athletes have done it, so I have taken my own resources and have traveled to Europe and the United States, all out of my own pocket, ”he said.
What alerts Pajón the most is that with the departure of María Isabel Urrutia and the recent arrival of Astrid Bibiana Rodríguez, everything will worsen due to the time it takes to know the position for the new official: “We are already three months behind, I don’t know how long the connection with the new minister will take, I hope it doesn’t take that long. I can do it (travel) I have been responsible with the resources that I have earned in my sports career, but I do not want to imagine what is happening with athletes.
After making her fear public, she was consulted about the present she is living in and the feelings she has had in order to compete again at the highest level: “We just got back from some competitions to know that, I went to run in Europe to some UCI races that gave points to Olympic qualification, then I ran five races in the United States, which served as a thermometer to know at what level I am, how was the pre-season and that you have to work”.
“The truth is I’m doing very well, my numbers in the gym improve, my weight, on the track, my power, how I feel and my motivation. I go up and every time I feel more Mariana on the bike and that makes me very happy ”, she added.
Although still far away on the calendar, the dates of his participation in the next Olympic Games is something that will take a large part of his preparation in the coming months. About this training period ahead of an important 2024, he said: “I had some pending surgeries that I am going to postpone to carry out a good and responsible process to classify and not stop the process. With my orthopedist in the elbow we have worked on the knees and others, but you can do an intelligent download process and it is not so strong ”.
To conclude, he said that his next objectives are to be part of the largest number of editions in the BMX World Cup and fight to be in the next Pan American Games: “I just got here, I did 8 races this year and I wasn’t used to that. They are going to see me in all the World Cups, starting in Turkey, then Holland and Argentina. Pan American Games, they are seeing if they send the elite to the Central American and Caribbean Games, if they send them I would love to represent the country there, if they don’t I will be in Europe”.
