Leap of Faith: Venezuelan athletes overcome challenges to represent their country
Venezuelan Ottaynis Febres ended in the 8th place in discus throw setting a new national U20 record of 51.43m (Photo Sebastian Lasquera/Atletismo Sudamericano)
LIMA, August 29, 2024 - Roineld Lara, 19, had given up on his dream of competing in the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 due to the political tensions between Venezuela, his home country, and Peru. However, just one week before the competition, he received the news that his travel documents had been approved, allowing him to compete alongside the best athletes of his generation.
What he never imagined, though, was that his journey to the Andes would present some of the most difficult challenges he had ever faced.
Venezuela severed relations with Peru following the July 28 national elections. Peru is one of the eleven countries from the Americas that did not recognise the result. Logistics to come to Lima were not easy to handle, with many hours on the road and up to three planes for a trip that until a few weeks was a 4-hour direct flight. Not anymore.
PLANES AND AUTOMOBILES The journey for the Venezuela delegation started at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía (Caracas), but their flight had a six-hour delay. They had to go to Cúcuta, Colombia, and then drive to Bogotá. But by the time they arrived, they had missed their second flight. So, they had to travel to Panama and then finally to Lima, where they arrived the night before Day 1 of the event.
“To be here, for me, is a success. After everything that happened, after all the inconveniences with the trip, I’m proud to be here and to represent my country”, adds Lara, who competed in 400m hurdles.
LOST FLIGHTS “We had to travel for hours in a car, we lost a flight, we had to stay in one place and then we had to fly again the next day, and we arrived one day before the competition”, says Orlando Fernández, who qualified to the final in javelin throw.
Ricardo David Montes, who qualified to the final of pole vault, travelled with his father who is also his coach, from his hometown Barquisimeto to Cucuta (Colombia), by car. Then they took a plane to Panama and finally to Lima, completing almost 24 hours of travel.
PRESSURE Ottaynis Mercedes Febres, who not only reached the final but finished in the 8th place of discus throw, setting a national U20 record of 51.43m, revealed that the day before the competition she could not sleep well.
“I think the pressure was one of the hardest parts, especially the responsibility to represent a country that brought very few athletes. I'm really super grateful for being here”, she said.
After this event, these athletes will not only remember the U20 as an athletics tournament, but also as an adventure in which they proved that they could beat circumstances and still compete.
Ottaynis Febres in action during the discus throw final of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 (Photo: Sebastian Lasquera / Atletismo Sudamericano)
What he never imagined, though, was that his journey to the Andes would present some of the most difficult challenges he had ever faced.
Venezuela severed relations with Peru following the July 28 national elections. Peru is one of the eleven countries from the Americas that did not recognise the result. Logistics to come to Lima were not easy to handle, with many hours on the road and up to three planes for a trip that until a few weeks was a 4-hour direct flight. Not anymore.
PLANES AND AUTOMOBILES The journey for the Venezuela delegation started at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía (Caracas), but their flight had a six-hour delay. They had to go to Cúcuta, Colombia, and then drive to Bogotá. But by the time they arrived, they had missed their second flight. So, they had to travel to Panama and then finally to Lima, where they arrived the night before Day 1 of the event.
“To be here, for me, is a success. After everything that happened, after all the inconveniences with the trip, I’m proud to be here and to represent my country”, adds Lara, who competed in 400m hurdles.
LOST FLIGHTS “We had to travel for hours in a car, we lost a flight, we had to stay in one place and then we had to fly again the next day, and we arrived one day before the competition”, says Orlando Fernández, who qualified to the final in javelin throw.
Ricardo David Montes, who qualified to the final of pole vault, travelled with his father who is also his coach, from his hometown Barquisimeto to Cucuta (Colombia), by car. Then they took a plane to Panama and finally to Lima, completing almost 24 hours of travel.
PRESSURE Ottaynis Mercedes Febres, who not only reached the final but finished in the 8th place of discus throw, setting a national U20 record of 51.43m, revealed that the day before the competition she could not sleep well.
“I think the pressure was one of the hardest parts, especially the responsibility to represent a country that brought very few athletes. I'm really super grateful for being here”, she said.
After this event, these athletes will not only remember the U20 as an athletics tournament, but also as an adventure in which they proved that they could beat circumstances and still compete.
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