- Santiago 2023: a historic day for Peruvian sports with four gold medals
The 30-year-old from Apurim does not know if he will be able to continue canoeing, and not because he doesn’t want to, the reality is different. His lack of support puts him in a complicated situation. In recent years, all the expenses have come out of his pocket or those of his family, and given the lack of sponsorship, the figure of retirement threatens his career. Sport He spoke with Eriberto to tell us about his reality and the desire for this to change with the bronze medal.
How do you feel with the medal in your hands now?
Very happy and motivated to be able to teach the little ones about the sport and to be able to show them this medal, which is a sacrifice that I had for four years, and that is now bearing fruit.
In Lima 2019 you finished in the top six and now you get your revenge and are bronze…
The truth is that my journey was very difficult, my journey as an athlete was very complicated, I did not have any support or sponsorship, everything was for the support of the family, I also supported myself. I feel very rewarded, the medal was brought to Peru, it is the most important thing.
The goal was to get a medal…
I trained for a long time with the intention of being able to win a medal, the Pan American canoeing prior to Santiago, I placed fifth and obtained direct classification. At that moment, I saw that I was not so far from the others, they had little time ahead of me, I knew that a medal was possible, I trained a lot and that was reflected in the semifinal and final.
You achieved the first Pan-American medal in the history of canoeing…
I feel proud, it is a great achievement for the entire kayaking and canoeing sports community, because there has never been a medal, it is something historic. I feel rewarded for all the work I had, there was a lot of suffering but before this and now it is time to enjoy.
Let’s hope it’s not the only medal we have in canoeing…
I intend to be able to win many more medals, but that no longer depends on me alone. If I do not find sponsorship from public and private companies, I will have to leave the sporting discipline. Meeting goals is difficult without support, none of this can be done without support. I have faith that the sponsors will arrive so I can continue with my sports career and give more achievements to the country.
For Santiago 2023, you didn’t have any prior support?
The federation and the Peruvian Olympic Committee covered our expenses for the Games and the last months of preparation, but not before that. During the last three and a half years I have covered all my training, I lost more than I gained financially. This medal reflects several years of work, there are many mixed feelings. Now we have to look for sponsorship and sponsorship to be able to continue.
Without the support of public and private companies, will it be very difficult for your career to continue?
Yes, the truth is I have my family and they always supported me and at some point I think it is time to give them what they deserve. And if I have to leave the discipline, I will have to do it, since they are very important to me. Without support, I will no longer be able to continue, I am no longer willing to invest more of my money to be able to continue, since I also have responsibilities.
With this medal, you hope to have visibility and exposure so that brands will support you…
I hope that this medal can give the boost that is needed for companies to know this discipline, because sometimes they say ‘no one supports what they don’t know’, now with this medal I hope the support can come.
Besides not having support for the last three years, what other setbacks have you had?
On the training track, where I trained, there were times where the ropes and other implements were stolen or the ropes were cut, and I had to spend my own resources to be able to replace them. For years, I have gone through that, I spent a lot of money, there were times when I wondered if I should stop competing, since the road has not been easy, but my parents, my family, were always there. I come from Apurímac, I live in a wooden hut, I built it myself with my own hands, I am a country person who struggles to stand out. Everything I have been through and now with the medal, this achievement is satisfactory. Now if I have to retire, I will happily do so; If I have to continue, welcome.
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