“It is never too late if the happiness is good,” says a saying that enhances the present of Cuban judoka. María Celia Laborde after making official this Wednesday his presence in the United States delegation for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024.
Although his sporting level was never in doubt, life and personal decisions postponed his debut under the shadow of the five rings: he was not in Rio de Janeiro 2016 nor in Tokio 2020; However, this tatami warrior did not give up her efforts and, at 33 years old, she will seek glory on the world’s main sporting stage.
One more dream come true, he wrote on his Facebook profile when reacting to the news, and the congratulations do not stop.
Representing her native country, the little athlete won the team bronze at the 2013 World Championships and returned to the podium the following year with a individual third place in the 48 kilogram category, at the planetary event in Chelyabinsk, Russia, when she was one of the favorites for the gold metal.
A few years later he dominated the division at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico. Just there left the delegationcrossed the border and fell off the competitive radars.
It is worth mentioning that Laborde always had the necessary attributes to maintain the achievements of a very successful weight within Cuban sports, since stars of the level of Legna Verdecia, Amarilis Savón and Yanet Bermoy passed before.
After moving to the United States, Laborde received citizenship in 2022 and began competing that same season. Already in 2023 she made history as the first exponent of that nation to obtain a medal at the Masters Worlds since 2016, when he won silver, a feat that stood out the official website of American judo.
However, Paris 2024 It will not be his debut in multi-sport competitions with the stars and stripes flag, since he reached third place in the Santiago de Chile Pan American Games 2023.
The American team is completed by Angélica Delgado, Jack Yonezuka and John Jayne, who also earned their tickets after an extensive qualifying process through world ranking and additional spots at the continental level.
“This group has a mix of youth and experience and I am excited for the future both in Paris and as we look towards Los Angeles (2028),” US judo high performance director Eddie Liddie told the site.
