Mexico's Rhythmic Gymnastics Team Places 12th in Olympic Debut
Mexico's rhythmic gymnastics team makes history with its Olympic debut, competing in both 5-hoop and 3-ribbon/2-ball routines. Despite placing 12th overall, the team is proud of their achievement and vows to improve for future competitions.
The wait is over and the national rhythmic gymnastics team performed this Friday on the mat of the Porte de la Chapelle Arena with the initial execution of the 5-ring routine, which marked its historic debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The tricolor quintet, led by coach Blajaith Aguilar, was the sixth team to perform the 2:30-minute choreography, where they accumulated a score of 29.700, which placed them in fourteenth place in the event.
The teams from Italy, Bulgaria and France led the initial stage of the competition in which they reached records of 38.200, 37.700 and 36.600, respectively.
For their second act, Mexicans Adirem Tejeda, Kimberly Salazar, Julia Gutiérrez, Sofía Flores and Dalia Alcocer presented the mixed routine of 3 ribbons and 2 balls, where they added 27.800 points to their tally, placing them in 12th place in the general table with a total of 57.500.
The young gymnasts were left out of the fight for medals in All-Around, which only the best eight teams qualified for: Bulgaria, Italy, Ukraine, France, China, Israel, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
The presentation of the national team marks the first time that Mexican rhythmic gymnastics is present at the Olympic Games in the group modality, a feat that was achieved after the Pan American runner-up position obtained in Santiago 2023.
Mexican rhythmic gymnastics team makes historic debut in Paris 2024. The quintet presented the routines 5 hoops and 3 ribbons - 2 balls, with which they finished in 12th place overall and conclude their first experience in the Olympic Games. Credit: CONADE
This Olympic cycle was full of historic things for us: Blajaith Aguilar
Adirem Tejeda, Kimberly Salazar, Julia Gutiérrez, Sofía Flores and Dalia Alcocer went down in the history of Mexican sport by being the first members to take Mexican rhythmic gymnastics to the Olympic Games in the group modality in Paris 2024.
The national team closed its debut in the competition this Friday with a 12th place overall after the presentation of the routines 5 hoops and 3 ribbons – 2 balls, an experience that added to the achievements they have achieved on the mat along the way that took them to the French capital.
Coach Blajaith Aguilar stressed that for the young gymnasts, reaching the Olympus represented another lesson in their initial career, but in which they have had great moments such as this historic qualification.
“The Olympic Games left us with a very great experience, we are very excited, we felt the weight of being the first in the history of our country, of being here, it is a very big weight,” she shared.
“This Olympic cycle was full of historic things for us at the World Cup level, World Challenge Cup, the Olympic pass, among others; I am happy, but not satisfied, we have to keep working, I love my girls very much, we are a team and we are going to get this thorn out of our side,” she commented.
Blajaith Aguilar assured that mistakes were made in both routines, which led the team to stay out of the competition for the medals, as was the case due to nervousness. In this regard, captain Adirem Tejeda commented that with dedication they will perfect the detected flaws for the next cycle.
“We are newbies in this, we have competed in World Cups, international tournaments, but it is not the same, this is the biggest sporting event and we are going to continue preparing, we are going to do better, this is a new experience and from here on out,” she assured.
The team, which maintains its permanent concentration at the National Center for the Development of Sports Talents and High Performance (CNAR), and Blajaith Aguilar, thanked the support of institutions such as CONADE, which have been part of their preparation and accompaniment in this Olympic participation.
