The Ecuadorean swimmer who lives in the United States won two medals in the 100 and 50 freestyle on Sunday and Monday.
Ecuadorean Anicka Delgado won her second consecutive medal at the Pan American Junior Games in Cali 2021 and is currently the best representative of the Ecuadorean swimming team so far in the competition.
Sunday night, at Hernando Botero O’Byrne’s pool, the tall athlete climbed the podium in the 100m freestyle event. And on Monday, at the same stage, in a difficult test, Annika ended up with a tie in time (25.74) and in second place with Brazilian Daes Goncalvez Pereira, with 25.74, which awarded the organization two silver medals.
According to the swimmer, upon reaching the Games, she did not set a goal in the number of medals to be achieved. “I just came from a competition representing my university in Southern California (USC) and when I got here, the only thing on my mind was being with my friends and swimming hard, having fun, every time I got into the pool. What has been achieved now fills me with joy. In fact, I’m very happy with the results.”
Regarding the silver medal he added on Monday, he considered that it was a tough fight, because the level is very strong at the Pan American level. “All the contenders swim really fast and I had the honor to swim against them, and even more so, to be on the medals podium.”
With this Pan American game, the season ends for the swimmer who lives in the United States and has already set goals, beyond swimming and the New Olympics, such as learning to speak Spanish. “Now I have to go back to school in the United States and keep preparing for new competitions and also go back to Ecuador to improve my Spanish.”
The main person responsible for the career and successes of the athlete is her father, former swimmer Philip Delgado, who proudly and with a smile extending his face with joy confirms that what Anika has achieved is not a coincidence, although he could not stop scoring. …that he “arrived here with a lot of loads due to swimming season with his university”, so they had to change the schedule. “We then decided to compete with everything you have to offer, but if you have passion, heart and pride in what you do, you will get results like Anicka, a bronze and a silver,” he said.
Regarding the competition that awarded her the silver medal in the 50 freestyle, she confirmed, “What I did tonight (on Monday), 25.74, is the fastest that she swims in. I’m sure Anicka doesn’t have a roof and we are already thinking about taking part in important tournaments for the summer and fall. 25 seconds in the 50m freestyle. If she succeeds, she will be one of the few swimmers in Latin America to do so.” (Dr)
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