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News > Latin America

Nicaraguan Judoka Training for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

  •  Sayra Laguna Zuniga receiving a medal at the Association of Nicaraguan Athletes in Feb. 2017.

    Sayra Laguna Zuniga receiving a medal at the Association of Nicaraguan Athletes in Feb. 2017. | Photo: @sayjudoka

Published 13 December 2017
Opinion

Nicaraguan judoka, Sayra Laguna Zuniga is training for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Nicaraguan judoka, Sayra Laguna Zuniga is training for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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At 29 years old Zuniga says she was 16 when she first started practicing Judo and the day was Feb. 14. “It was love at first sight,” she says of the Japanese martial art. The Managua native says she was attracted to the “intensity of the judo exercises.”

So far Zuniga has won a gold medal in judo in the national juvenile competitions in Nicaragua and in 2008 she was a gold at the Central American Championships that took place in Managua. “From all 16 Nicaraguan competitors [at the games] I was the only one to win a gold medal for combat.” asserted the judoka.

In 2012 Zuniga had the opportunity to compete in the Central-North Cup in Costa Rica with her university, the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, UNAM-Nicaragua. She won a bronze in judo in the Pan American Games this year.

“In Latin America you need points 600...from Pan American Games [and] international judo competitions to qualify for the Olympics.”

Zuniga says she has encountered gender discrimination on part of her male competitors saying that she feels some have been jealous of her simply for being a successful female in the sport.

“I will tell all women: be sure of yourselves with who you are. Taking risks is good because it can open you up to new avenues. Women can practice sports considered to be only for men,” says the Olympic hopeful.

Next year Zuniga will compete in the Pan American Judo Majors to take place in San Jose, Costa Rica where she hopes to gain points toward her Olympic qualifications.

Zuniga is also proud of having just defended her thesis this month. She wrote her graduating paper on the benefits of companies providing gym space to their employees where employees can practice, among other sports, judo. She earned a 94 percent on her thesis.

Sayra Laguna Zuniga
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