Milagro Mena Solano, a 31-year-old Costa Rican cyclist, will represent the country in the Olympic Games. Mena expressed her excitement upon learning of the decision, emphasizing that this achievement is the result of her hard work.
“Super happy, I have no words to express the happiness I feel. Knowing I will be participating in my second Olympic Games is something that fills me with great pride and satisfaction. I’m seeing that all the work done during these years and these last months is paying off,” said Mena.
The board of directors of the Costa Rican Cycling Federation (FECOCI) announced on Friday that, after evaluating technical criteria including training and competition results, it was decided that Mena would be the Costa Rican representative.
The athlete qualified tenth in 2023 at the Pan American Cycling Championship in Panama, a tournament that awarded two direct tickets to Paris 2024. However, only countries that did not qualify through the ranking of nations were eligible for these tickets. Mena secured her Olympic spot by outperforming contenders from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile.
“Since January, we have been working on preparing the rider for the Olympic Games. From the Federation, we made the decision that Milagro Mena will be the athlete who represents us at the Games, and we are also communicating this decision to the National Olympic Committee (NOC),” said Oscar Avila, president of FECOCI.
Mena has been training in Spain for a month with Soltec Team Iberoamerica and will continue her preparation in Europe until July, participating in events such as the Women’s Spanish Cup and the Women’s Tour of Portugal.
The Olympic Games will take place between July 26 and August 11. The Orotina native will compete in her second Olympic Games with coach Paula Herrera and mechanic Keylor Quiros.
“The long-awaited confirmation was given: Paris 2024, here we go. Thank you, God, because you are always present and show it to me. Thank you all for the support,” said the athlete on her social media networks.
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Ileana Fernandez
