Amalia Perez Vazquez

Started: She began practising sports at age six as part of her rehabilitation. She took up powerlifting at age 18. (Athlete, 04 Dec 2017; discapacinet.gob.mx, 09 Jun 2007) Reason: She practised several sports growing up, including swimming, athletics, basketball and archery. She was then spotted by coaches at a national competition for Para sports in Mexico, where she was encouraged to take up Para powerlifting. "I felt like I could practise it, and I also wanted to boost the women's competition in order to be included in the Paralympic Games." (Athlete, 19 Jul 2019; eleconomista.com.mx, 20 Nov 2023) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (gob.mx, 14 Oct 2023) Milestones: She is one of three powerlifters, alongside Egypt's Fatma Omar and Nigeria's Lucy Ejike, to have won six career Paralympic medals. All three claimed their sixth medal at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Her victory in the 61kg category in Tokyo also meant that she became one of three female powerlifters to have won four Paralympic gold medals, along with Fatma Omar of Egypt and Fu Taoying of the People's Republic of China. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) She became the first powerlifter to win a Paralympic gold medal for Mexico when she triumphed in the 52kg division at the 2008 Games in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) Awards: She and Para swimmer Diego Lopez Diaz were Mexico's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (mediotiempo.com, 17 Jul 2021; olympics.com, 22 Aug 2021) In January 2016 she received the Mexican National Sports Award for the third time in her career. (paralympic.org, 29 Jan 2016) She was named Paralympic Athlete of the Year at the 2009 Fox Pan American Sports Awards. (hispanicwire.com, 10 Dec 2009) Additional Info: SWITCHING CATEGORIES In 2018 she moved from competing in the 55kg category up to the 61kg category. She won the title in the new weight class at both the 2018 Asia-Oceania Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, and the 2018 Americas Open Championships in Bogota, Colombia. "It was a good test to see how far I can get. I feel I'm on the right track." (amqueretaro.com, 06 Jan 2019; insidethegames.biz, 07 Dec 2018; gob.mx, 10 Sep 2018) OTHER ROLES She is a certified powerlifting coach with the International Powerlifting Federation [IPF], and also served as a judge at the 2019 National Powerlifting Championships in Mexico. "I know that future generations are coming after me and I want to do my part for my country and society." (Athlete, 19 Jul 2019; periodicoelmexicano.com.mx, 19 Mar 2019)