Campos & Avilés: Inside the Minds of Mexico's Sprint Stars

After three weeks of competitions in Texas, United States, the Mexican men's 4x400m relay returned to our country with the objective of qualifying for the World Championship of the discipline, where they will seek to get the ticket that will take them to their first Olympic experience in Paris 2024.

His last mark of 3:03.61 minutes, the best obtained in the American tour, left good feelings in the team, since the sprinters Guillermo Campos Ornelas and Luis Antonio Avilés Ferreiro, members of the national team, detailed that competing with Olympic and world athletes demanded a high level.

“Previously we had two competitions, and it helped us to see where we were failing and to be able to correct, adjust details for this last one in which we knew there was going to be a little bit more level, and it helped us a lot, it is the plus that pushed me to run better, but I know that it could improve my partial and help the relay more”, highlighted Guillermo Campos.

“We are looking to improve the time we did in the Pan American Games and reaffirm our place in the World Championship, so far, we have qualified. We competed very well against athletes of international stature, we put ourselves on a level playing field, we did not let ourselves, we made the Mexican relay be present with those figures”, said Luis Avilés.

The athletes are confident of securing their place in the world championship to be held next May in Nassau, Bahamas, so this week they will train at the National Center for the Development of Sports Talents and High Performance (CNAR).

Guillermo Campos predicts success for the Mexican team, which, together with Luis Avilés, Edgar Ramírez and Valente Mendoza, will hold a competition next Friday in Mexico City with the objective of closing their pass to the world championship, since the qualification period will conclude next Sunday, April 7.

“The relay has a lot of opportunity to improve, there were details that cost us maybe a few seconds, but with this time of 3:03.61 we are in the position to attend, after April 7 it's time to prepare and get ready, since we will have a few months to be ready,” said Campos Ornelas.

“I am happy to be part of all this, I feel capable and very well-prepared, looking for a good result in the World Championship, I know we are going to pass, and we will do an outstanding job, that we will get the pass to the Olympic Games is our main goal, it will not be easy, but we will get it, I trust in me and in my teammates”, added Guillermo Campos.

The sprinter, runner-up in the Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023, shared that, in addition to the 4x400 relay, he also has the goal of achieving the minimum qualifying mark for Paris 2024 in 400 meters hurdles, his individual event.

“I'm still preparing for my event, right now, I'm concentrating on the relay, but as soon as we get the world pass confirmed, I'll have to prepare myself and look for the Olympic qualifying mark as well”, he concluded.