Olvera & Celaya Seek Synchronized Success at Paris Olympics

Mexican divers Osmar Olvera Ibarra and Juan Manuel Celaya Hernandez traveled this Sunday to France with their coach Ma Jin and the rest of the Olympic team to begin their journey to Paris 2024.

Olvera, who will participate in the individual springboard and synchronized events along with Juan Manuel Celaya, highlighted that the synergy between the two has been growing to achieve the goal of reaching the Olympic podium after winning the silver medal last April, in the Super Final of the World Cup held in Xian, China.

“It was a very good preparation, we had a little more than two months to get in the best physical shape and I think we did it, physically, and mentally I feel very good and in diving too. In synchronized with Juan Celaya, we were every day managing and polishing to look more complete, in individual we were also polishing small details, I had the World Cups to see what I had to improve and pay attention so we focused on those to make the difference,” he explained.

The 20-year-old jumper also assured that for this summer competition he will arrive with more baggage after his participation in the Tokyo 2020 edition, where he obtained 14th place in the 3-meter event, in addition to the fact that he will also have the support of his coach at the Saint-Denis Aquatic Center.

“I am a entirely different Osmar Olvera, obviously I have grown, both mentally and physically, so I will arrive in better shape, I have been giving great results, which is also fundamental, the judges know me and know that I have been fighting to be in the top places and that is important. It is always the goal and the objective to beat the Chinese because they are the rival to beat, it has been my dream since I was a little boy, to compete against them and stand toe to toe”, he added.

“It is very significant to have my coach by my side, telling me what I have to listen to in those moments of so much pressure, energy and adrenaline,” he added.

For his part, Juan Manuel Celaya, who joined the Asian coach's team, expressed that the work done has been arduous and fruitful to improve technical aspects in preparation for the most essential event of the sport.

“The preparation has been very hard, we worked very hard, and I think we are on the right track. The connection with Osmar has been very fast, we haven't practiced much before the first competition in China that gave good results, but there was good chemistry between the two of us”.

Finally, the diver originally from Nuevo León, also commented that for these Olympic Games he will seek to surpass what he did in the Tokyo 2020 edition, after getting fourth place in the men's 3m synchronized springboard event along with his teammate Yahel Castillo.

“Juan Celaya is still the same, with a little more experience and more mature, but the same enthusiasm as if they were my first Olympic Games and I will give the best possible result,” he concluded.