Mariana Pajón Among 32 Athletes Running for IOC Athletes’ Commission Elections in Paris

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Mariana Pajón is hoping to represent her fellow athletes…

The 32-year-old Colombian cyclist, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and BMX World Champion, is a candidate in elections at the 2024 Paris Games to represent their fellow athletes at the IOC.The International Olympic Committee announced the list of 32 candidates this week for elections to be held during the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris from July 26-August 11, when about 10,500 athletes are eligible to vote.

After being the flag-bearer for Colombia during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Games, Pajón’s first participation in the BMX event resulted in the first gold medal for Colombia during the 2012 games and the second overall in Colombia’s participation in the Olympics.

In the 2016 Rio Games Pajón defended her title and won her second Olympic gold medal and fifth overall for Colombia. With this victory, Pajón became the first Colombian athlete to win two gold medals.

In the 2020 Tokyo Games, Pajón won silver.

But Pajon isn’t the only Latinx athlete in the running…

Kahena Kunze, a 32-year-old Brazilian Olympic sailor, is also a candidate. Together with Martine Grael she won the 49er FX class at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships and a gold medal in the inaugural 49er FX race, during the 2016 Rio Games, a feat both repeated at 2020 Tokyo Games.

Other Latinx candidates include Salvadoran sailor Enrique Arathoon, who competed at the 2016 Rio Games and 2020 Tokyo Games; Mexican pentathlon athlete Emiliano Hernandez Uscanga; Puerto Rican judoka Melissa Mojica Rosario, who competed at the 2012 London Games, 2016 Rio Games and 2020 Tokyo Games; and Argentine judoka Paula Belén Pareto, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games.

Four positions are up for election.

Marlen Esparza to Fight Gabriela Fundora in Undisputed Flyweight Championship Bout

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Marlen Esparza has secured her next opponent…

The 34-year-old Mexican American boxer and flyweight women’s unified champion and fellow Latina boxing champion Gabriela Fundora will meet for the undisputed flyweight championship on January 6 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.

The fight will be on the undercard of Vergil Ortiz Jr.‘s 154-pound debut against Fredrick Lawson, a show promoted by Golden Boy.

Esparza (14-1, 1 KO), of Houston, a bronze medalist for the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games and ESPN’s No. 1 ranked flyweight, won the WBC belt with a victory over Anabel Ortiz in December 2021. Esparza knocked down Ortiz twice en route to a unanimous decision win by scorecards of 100-88, 99-90 and 95-94.

Esparza added the WBA title four months later with a one-sided decision victory over Naoko Fujioka (100-90, 100-90 and 97-93), and after one successful defense against Eva Guzman in August 2022, Esparza unified the WBO belt in a tough fight against Gabriela Celeste Alaniz, whom she beat by majority decision (99-91, 97-93 and 95-95) this past July.

Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs), of Coachella, California, is the younger sister of former junior middleweight interim titlist Sebastian Fundora.

Gabriela Fundora, ranked No. 2 by ESPN in the division, has been very active in 2023, fighting three times, including a fifth-round TKO victory over Arely Mucino in October to win the IBF title.

Emanuel Navarrete Retains WBO Junior Lightweight Title with Majority Draw Over Robson Conceicao

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Emanuel Navarrete has retained his WBO junior lightweight title.

The 28-year-old Mexican boxer floored Robson Conceicao twice but settled for a majority draw in his title defense bout on Thursday at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) dropped Conceicao in Round 4 and again in Round 7.

He was on the verge of stopping the challenger in the penultimate round as the referee inched closer to the action, but Conceicao never wilted.

Conceicao, an Olympic gold medalist from Brazil, won the final round on all three scorecards to avoid defeat in his third challenge and likely earn a rematch.

One judge scored the 130-pound title bout 114-112 for Navarrete but was overruled by two 113-113 tallies.

“I’m happy to come away with the belt,” Navarrete, ESPN‘s No. 1 boxer at 130 pounds, said through an interpreter. “We both did what we said we were going to do. … He’s a tremendous fighter. His technique is next level, and that’s what it makes it so hard.

“If it’s up to me, I would definitely give Robson a rematch because he definitely deserves it.”

Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) dropped Conceicao in the fourth with a right hand to the temple and then knocked him down again three rounds later with a right hand to the body.

Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KOs) was happy to stay in the pocket, though, regardless of the power disparity. He jabbed and moved and connected on combinations while Navarrete swarmed him with his patented awkward angles.

With both eyes swollen, Conceicao saved his best for the final round as he took the fight to the champion.

“I think we both deserve a rematch,” Conceicao, ESPN’s No. 7 junior lightweight, said through an interpreter. “I proved what I’m capable of. I give ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete a lot of credit. He’s a powerful fighter, but I know what I did tonight. I deserved the victory.”

If it weren’t for the two knockdowns, Conceicao, 35, would have earned the win. But instead, he likely earned a rematch with a career-best performance.

His first two title shots didn’t come on an even playing field. When he challenged Oscar Valdez in 2021, he did so weeks after Valdez tested positive for a banned substance but was allowed to compete. Conceicao settled for a controversial decision loss.

One year later, Conceicao challenged Shakur Stevenson for a title, but Stevenson weighed in over the 130-pound limit and cruised to victory.

Navarrete, meanwhile, was coming off a win over Valdez in August in his first title defense. The 28-year-old also won titles at 122 and 126 pounds.

International Tennis Federation Encouraging Rafael Nadal to Play it the 2024 Paris Games

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Rafael Nadal’s return to competitive play, one organization is encouraging him to get back in the game in time for the 2024 Paris Games.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is planning to do everything it can to encourage the 37-year-old former world No. 1 to compete in the Paris Olympic Games, the global tennis body’s chief David Haggerty tells Reuters.

Nadal has been sidelined since hurting his hip flexor in a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in mid-January and has yet to confirm his plans for next season following surgery.

Nadal had previously said he expects to retire following the 2024 season and hoped to play in the Paris Games with the tennis tournament set to take place at Roland Garros, where he has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.

Nadal won the Olympic singles gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Games and the doubles gold eight years later at the 2016 Rio Games.

“We know what a champion he is and a medalist a number of times so it certainly could be a storybook ending, so to speak, for him. It would be great. Whether he does or not, will be up to him,” Haggerty told Reuters in a video call on Monday.

“But we’ll do everything we can to encourage him to play, because I think it would be great. Knowing that it’s in Paris, at Roland Garros, where he’s had such tremendous success would be a great venue for him to be able to compete at.”

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said earlier this month Nadal would return to Grand Slam tennis at Melbourne Park, but the player’s representative said no timeline had been set for his comeback.

Nadal has been stepping up his recovery and releasing videos on social media of his training.

“I think the main thing for him is just being healthy and feeling he can compete at the level that he wants to, because that’s the kind of competitor he is,” Haggerty said.

“He wants to be at the top of his game and we wish him the best.”

Diana Taurasi Headlining USA Basketball’s Upcoming Exhibitions Against College Teams

Posted on October 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Diana Taurasi is ready to play ‘ball…

The 41-year-old Argentine American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury, considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history, and Brittney Griner will headline USA Basketball’s roster for its upcoming exhibitions against college teams as well as November training camp.

USA Basketball is eyeing its eighth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games next summer.

The exhibitions — against Tennessee on November 5 (SEC Network/ESPN App, 6:00 pm ET) and Duke on November 12 (ACC Network Extra/ESPN App, noon ET) — and training camp (November 7-9) are held in preparation for the Games and to evaluate the program’s player pool.

The U.S. will also participate in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February before holding another training camp at the Final Four. The team is coached by the Minnesota Lynx‘s Cheryl Reeve, with Mike Thibault and Curt Miller serving as assistants.

Griner and Taurasi, who turned 41 in June and is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, will join Kahleah Copper, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu and Azura Stevens on the roster for both college exhibitions.

It will be the first USA Basketball competition for Griner, a two-time Olympian, since her nearly nine-month detainment in Russia last year.

WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, Ariel Atkins, Betnijah Laney and Jackie Young will suit up in the exhibition vs. Tennessee, while Dearica Hamby, Natasha Howard, Arike Ogunbowale and Kelsey Plum are on the roster in place of those four for the Duke matchup.

Young and Plum recently won the 2023 WNBA title with the Las Vegas Aces.

Two-time Olympian Angel McCoughtry will join the group at training camp in Atlanta.

Jose Pedraza to Fight Keyshawn Davis in 10-Round Lightweight Bout in December

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Pedraza has secured his next opponent…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer and former two-weight world champion has agreed to fight Keyshawn Davis in a 10-round lightweight bout on December 9 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, according to ESPN.

Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KOs) is winless in his past three bouts, all of which took place at 140 pounds. A draw with Richard Commey was sandwiched in between close decision losses to junior welterweight contenders Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza.

Pedraza last competed at 135 pounds in May 2019.

The slick southpaw was a titleholder at 130 and 135 pounds. Both of his title defeats came against the sport’s elite. Pedraza lost his 130-pound title via TKO to Gervonta Davis in 2017.

The following year, Pedraza dropped his 135-pound title via decision to Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Davis, an Olympic silver medalist, will be stepping way up in competition for his first bout against a former champion. The 135-pound bout will take place on the ESPN undercard of a featherweight title fight between WBO titleholder Robeisy Ramirez and Rafael Espinoza, sources said.

Davis, 24, is coming off the toughest fight of his career, a majority-decision victory over Nahir Albright earlier this month.

The matchup with Pedraza will be the fourth fight for Davis (10-0, 6 KOs) this year as the prospect looks to become a contender with a victory over the 34-year-old gatekeeper.

Davis, one of the sport’s best prospects, competed at the Olympics in 2021. The Norfolk, Virginia, native is trained by Brian McIntyre, who also guides Terence Crawford.

Junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas will also fight on the undercard, sources said.

Rebeca Andrade Wins Vault Gold Medal at World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rebeca Andrade has vaulted her way to another world title…

At the the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the 24-year-old Brazilian gymnast and Olympic gold medalist denied Simone Biles a 22nd world title on Saturday by pulling ahead of the American superstar and winning her second women’s vault title.

Andrade capitalized after Biles couldn’t control her first vault.

She averaged a 14.750 for the gold with Biles at 14.549. Andrade is the 2020 Tokyo Games champion in the event, and took her first world title in the event in 2021.

“I’m really happy about this for Brazil, it’s another gold,” Andrade told Olympics.com afterward. “I don’t know if I expected it in my mind, of course, we always try to win, but the principal goal is to do my part.”

2020 Olympic bronze medalist Yeo Seo-jeong claimed her first world medal on the event in third (14.416). The medal is also a first for the Republic of Korea on the event at Worlds.

Andrade is the first Brazilian female gymnast to medal at an Olympic Games, and she is only the second Brazilian woman to win a gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

https://twitter.com/IzbasaG/status/1710650505205088349

Brazil Women’s Gymnastics Team Wins Historic Silver Medal at World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rebeca Andrade and her teammates have made gymnastics history…

The 24-year-old Brazilian gymnast and Olympic gold medalist and her Brazil teammates have made history at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, becoming the first South American team to ever win a medal in the team competition.

The Brazilian team claimed the silver medal with a score of 165.530, coming in 2.199 points behind the United States.

Brazil’s score in the qualifying round had already qualified them for Paris 2024 as a team.

Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. took the gold and their seventh straight team title.

France completed the podium, coming in third. But even on the same stage as arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, the Brazilian team, led by 2022 world all-around champion Rebeca Andrade, managed to shine bright.

Andrade, the first Brazilian female gymnast to medal at an Olympic Games, clinched the medal for the Brazilian team with a clutch vault. But it was the team’s steady performances that elevated them to a second-place finish no one was expecting and few had even dared hope for.

But Brazilian’s Andrade, Jade Barbosa, Flavia Saraiva, Lorrane Oliviera and Julia Soares were more than happy with making their own kind of history.

In 2019, the Brazilian team missed qualifying for the Olympics. Now they’re silver medalists at the 2023 World Championships and they are going to the 2024 Paris Games. Not just that, they’ll have a chance to do more than just represent their country. This Brazilian team, with much less institutional support than the US, has proven it can compete with the best teams in the world.

“Today we have accomplished something we have worked for for more than five Olympic cycles,” said Barbosa. “It’s difficult to put into words: this is something Brazil has always strived for,” she added “I did it not just for this generation but for all the generations.”

Emanuel Navarrete to Defend WBO Junior Lightweight Title Against Robson Conceicao

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Emanuel Navarrete is going on the defensive…

The 28-year-old Mexican professional boxer will defend the WBO junior lightweight title against Robson Conceicao on November 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight, which will be Navarrete’s third of 2023, will serve as the chief-support bout to the Shakur Stevenson–Edwin De Los Santos lightweight title fight.

Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) scored the biggest win of his career in August, taking a wide-points victory over former champion Oscar Valdez.

A three-division champion, he also captured titles at 122 and 126 pounds and is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 130 pounds.

Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) will vie for a world title for a third time. The 34-year-old Brazilian was set to stay busy on Friday night underneath the ESPN main event between Luis Alberto Lopez and Joet Gonzalez.

But with the title fight presented to him earlier this week, Conceicao was a late scratch from his bout with Humberto Galindo.

“I had to three fight three times to become champion,” Conceicao told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel on Friday on the ESPN broadcast. “It’s my time.”

Conceicao’s two losses came in title fights, both under extenuating circumstances. The Olympic gold medalist dropped a disputed decision to Valdez in 2021 after Valdez tested positive for a banned substance.

Conceicao challenged Stevenson for a 130-pound title last year, but Stevenson missed weight before he soundly outpointed Conceicao.

Henry Cejudo to Fight Marlon “Chito” Vera in Bantamweight Contest at UFC 292

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Henry Cejudo is preparing for a pivotal contest…

The 36-year-old Mexican American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler, a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, will fight Marlon “Chito” Vera in a bantamweight contest at UFC 292 in August, UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Monday.

Contracts haven’t been signed, but both sides have verbally agreed to the bout.

It will take place on the pay-per-view event on August 19 in Boston’s TD Garden.

A bantamweight championship bout between defending champion Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley is slated to headline the card.

Cejudo (16-3) is coming off a failed bid to recapture the 135-pound title in May. The former dual-weight champion came out of a three-year retirement to challenge Sterling at UFC 288, but lost via split decision.

Cejudo initially planned on waiting for a fight against Sterling’s teammate and No. 1-ranked bantamweight title contender Merab Dvalishvili, but opted to jump at an opportunity to fight on August 19, which marks the 15-year anniversary of his Olympic gold medal run in 2008.

Vera (22-8-1), of Ecuador, is also coming off a split decision loss. He came up just short in a five-round fight against Cory Sandhagen in March. Prior to the loss, Vera had won four in a row.

Cejudo and Vera are the UFC’s Nos. 3 and 6-ranked bantamweights, respectively.

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