Julián Andrés Santa
The Risaraldense Athletics League was chosen as the league of the year in the department in 2023. This is how for 2024 the objectives continue to be to promote its discipline to the maximum throughout all the municipalities of the department.
Dialogues with the Mayor of Pereira
Being able to have the athletics track remains the project to be executed, this is how José Zapata, president of the league, referred to the dialogue they had with the Mayor of Pereira, Mauricio Salazar. «I believe that the Mayor showed interest in being the ruler of the Pearl of Otún who is going to return to the people of Pereira and Rizaldenses the stage for the practice of the most Olympic of sports. Now it’s time to provide support and we have already requested a meeting to speak personally with him, a group of representatives of the Pereira clubs, the league and some social actors in sports in the department.”
Advance on the track
“The project that had been presented is there, it is a job that the previous administration paid for, which was the updating of the studies and designs and is property of the Mayor’s Office. Based on that, we plan to present that project again and continue with the recovery of the stage.”
Track and stadium?
“This project that was presented, in addition to the athletics track, included some interventions in the stadium such as lighting among others, so that is what we have to discuss with the Mayor because we are primarily interested in the track for the project to come out. as viable as possible, which is mainly what has to do with the track first and after that, they do look at the rest of the interventions that are going to be done to the stadium.”
They had a walk in Santa Rosa
“Always at the beginning of the year we have the custom of gathering a group of athletes and doing a special activity as a reunion. We took a walk with most of the athletes who were in the National Games and those who are in initiation. The route was from the bridge of the Santa Ana de Santa Rosa village and we reached the Termales de San Vicente sector. It was a walk of approximately 12 hours.”
Challenges for 2024
“It is a year with many national and international athletic competitions. The first championship where the league will be present is the national marching championship with Valeria Mejía Paque, daughter of Nora Paque, our athlete from the 90s and 2000s. It will be in Paipa on February 3. “
Prior to Youth Nationals
“In the U-20 National Championship where the marks will be selected and achieved to be present in the National Youth Games that will be held in Armenia and will be before the Bolivarian Youth Games in Bolivia” .
Yesenia will be at the World Cup
«In the World Athletics Championships in Peru, Yesenia Sánchez is already classified in the 200 meters in the U-20 category. The South American Championship of this same category is coming in Peru as well and the different national championships and Central American and Caribbean championships where we hope that our athletes will be able to qualify in each of their categories.
They seek support in each municipality
“From the athletics league we are going to begin a rapprochement with all the mayors of the department where we are going to provide them with our support and our advice for the development of grassroots sports in their territories and in this way we will be talking with Mayor Pablo Gómez of Santa Rosa and with all the mayors of the department.
Santa Rosa, land of athletic talent
«Taking advantage of the fact that in Santa Rosa de Cabal there is a track and we have a good number of implements that belong to the league and that this was where the last athletes of the previous decade emerged who gave results at the national level, several in the Colombian National Team so “That we will take advantage of to invite him to be part of the development of athletics in our department,” said the president of the league, José Zapata.