At almost 35, Paola Espinosa, the diving star from Mexico, is certainly one of the most successful (and experienced) athletes in the women’s field. She is in Tokyo this week, ready and motivated to compete in the FINA Diving World Cup, with one assurance: whatever happens, she has already confirmed her presence in what will be her fifth Olympics. The key moment for this qualification was the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju (KOR), where she got her medal in the 3m springboard synchro final.
Since then, a lot of water run under
the bridge, but a smiling Espinosa is confident in a good performance this
summer in Japan.
“It has been a very difficult year
for everyone”, she confesses. Besides the obvious challenges related with the
COVID-19 global context, she was personally infected with the virus in
mid-December 2020. What seemed to be an innocuous situation, then evolved into
a serious pneumonia, necessitating a heavy treatment.
“I was very afraid, especially for my
young daughter. At night, I was sleeping seated, as I feared I could not wake
up in the morning… I had to take cortisone, I got extra kilos, and I was confronted
with many contradictory messages. I then consulted with an expert and I
strictly followed his treatment. After a month, things started to get better
and I could resume training”.
World champion in 2009 in the 10m
platform – she won three additional medals at the FINA showcase -, Espinosa is
also the most decorated female Mexican diver at Olympic level, with a silver in
2012 in the 10m synchro final and a bronze, four years before, in the same
event.
“These Olympics in Tokyo will be very
emotional for me. I will live them in a completely different way this time. My
dream was to have my daughter watching me from the stands, but this will
unfortunately not be possible… She has been a very strong motivation for me
during this difficult period”.
About her goals, she is clear: “to
win a medal. I want this for me, for my daughter and for my country. I am
training well, I feel strong, and I have a superb team around me, led by my
coach Ivan Bautista. I have all the conditions to reach that target here in
Tokyo”.
For the time being, the focus is the
FINA Diving World Cup, where she will compete with her teammate Melany
Hernandez in the 3m synchro final.
“This pool is outstanding – I like it
a lot, you can already feel the competition. It is very beautiful, as we saw it
so many times in the photos! Besides that, everyone is very friendly, taking
care of us, and providing the best possible conditions”.
Her only regret, the lack of
spectators: “Obviously, it won’t be the same. We will miss that emotion, those
flags waving in the stands, the supporters’ joy… However, given this
challenging situation, we can easily understand that the people’s health is the
number one priority now…”
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