Mexico is celebrating its peak in diving. Osmar Olvera and Juan Manuel Celaya have won a silver medal in diving, a prize that recognises them as one of the best in the world. They are now part of the elite. The Mexican duo battled against the almost infallible Chinese, who they challenged for gold with powerful and elegant movements. At times during the competition, Olvera and Celaya led the scores. Thus, the Mexican delegation has its third medal at the Paris Olympic Games after the silver medal of Prisca Awiti in judo and the bronze of the archery trio of Alejandra Valencia, Ana Paula Vázquez and Ángela Ruiz.
Osmar Olvera (20 years old) and Juan Manuel Celaya (25) have caused a frenzy in Mexico after a superb performance in Paris. The Mexicans took second place after five rounds of pure class: 444.03 points against the 446.10 of Daoyi Long and Zongyuan of China. Third place went to the British Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher 438.15. Olvera and Celaya challenged the reign of the Chinese and took everything to the last dive to decide who would take the gold. The greatest strength of the Mexicans was their courage: they made daring jumps. The ability to synchronize was innate. Chants in favor of the Mexicans resonated in the Aquatic Center of Paris, but the silver divers maintained a high-level concentration, avoiding the jumps of their other competitors. “For me we won, it is a sport of appreciation, that is how things are. “We did what was necessary, we trained to come here: to collect the medal,” Olvera told Clarosports after the competition.
The medal won by Olvera and Celaya is valuable because it is the 16th in the history of Mexico in the Olympic Games and consolidates diving as the sport that has given the country the most medals. It is also the first that Mexicans have won from the synchronized three-meter springboard. And it is only the second time that two divers have made it to the podium in the men’s category after the silver medal won by Germán Sánchez and Iván García, in the 10-meter platform in London 2012.
The silver medal is a credit to a team with great strength and courage. In the last three years, the Mexican divers suffered from the suspension of their scholarships due to a conflict between their extinct swimming federation, World Aquatics, and the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport (Conade). World Aquatics, the governing body of world swimming, took charge of the future of all Mexican swimmers due to a corruption case within the Mexican federation, in which President Kiril Todorov was accused by the Mexican Prosecutor’s Office of embezzling more than 150 million pesos. The highest commissioner of sport, Ana Guevara, turned off the tap of support and the swimmers had to juggle to stay at the top of the world. Most of the athletes sued Conade because, by law, they were entitled to that financial support; Guevara, on the other hand, claimed that she could not give public money to a private and foreign entity. That complicated everyone’s preparation. Despite this, the media hype and the pressure, Mexico has already obtained its first medal in these Olympic Games in diving. Before, the duo of Kevin Berlín and Randal Willars finished fourth. The duo of Alejandra Orozco and Gaby Agúndez finished in fifth place.
The grasshopper and the tiger
Mexico had high hopes for its young hopeful. He started in high-performance sport at the age of 12. Osmar Olvera, a grasshopper from Mexico City, won a historic gold medal at the World Championships in Doha alone. At another world tournament, in Fukuoka (Japan), he also won two silver medals. At the last Pan American Games, he also won the gold medal. Before that glory, he had to suffer a bit at Tokyo 2020, his first Games, when he fell in the preliminary round. He is by far one of the best talents in the Mexican delegation. And he still has to compete in the individual event, which will take place on August 6.
And in Paris there was a tiger in the pool. It was Juan Manuel Celaya, born in Monterrey, who decided to move to Louisiana, United States, to compete in the elite of university competitions. He forged himself as a foreign talent that amazed everyone on the circuit. That led him to represent Mexico. He qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as one of the great cards. Together with Yahel Castillo they fought point by point for the bronze medal, but they lost it to the German tandem by a minimal difference. It was the medal that could take off his career, but the prize did not fall. Nor did the diver’s spirit decline. The Monterrey native has a tiger tattooed on his left rib, his favorite animal, which also alludes to the mascot of the University of Louisiana and his favorite team, the Tigers. “It is the path with more downs than ups, this Olympic cycle has been very difficult,” admitted Celaya, deprived of competing in the Central American and Pan American Games. Celaya recovered for this Olympic cycle and won a silver medal in a competition in Xi’an in the synchronized event with Osmar Olvera. It was the first sign that they could compete with the kings of diving. The Mexican duo worked and was validated in France.
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