Although the Soltec Team Iberoamerica, the team that currently represents the Costa Rican cyclist, had advanced the scoop a few weeks ago, the Costa Rican Cycling Federation (FECOCI) took its time to make the official announcement, confirming today that Milagro Mena Solano will be the Olympic representative of cycling in the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
“Since January we have been working on the rider for the Olympic Games, from the Federation we made the decision that Milagro Mena will be the athlete who will represent us for the fairs, we are already communicating also to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) the decision,” said Oscar Avila, president of FECOCI.
Milagro Mena has been preparing in Spain for a month with Soltec Team Iberoamerica and will continue in the old continent until July, with the participation 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, and Milagro Mena will face her second Olympic Games with coach Paula Herrera and the mechanic will be Keylor Quirós.
Although Milagro Mena had already contemplated some international offers during the last season, she preferred to seek the Olympic qualification in America, aware of the high competitive demand and the scarce possibility of achieving such units.
“Since last year I had an offer from a team in Great Britain, but had not wanted to move to that side despite having that opportunity because let’s face it: to seek an Olympic qualification, it is often easier to do it here than to go to seek points in Europe, we know it is quite difficult because of the level of riders we have there,” said Mena.
“Last year maybe it was not the right time, this year it is the right time and we were given this opportunity through Panama and also to thank the Federation of Costa Rica that make many of these things possible for all those ties that there are always good relations.
To the determination to seek Olympic points in America, Milagro added a goal that she worked on before and during the Pan American Games in Santiago Chile 2023: to achieve one of her best careers in continental events representing the National Team.
“I am super proud to be able to say that for the second time I give a place to Costa Rica and I hope and trust that I can be in Paris 2024”, expressed Milagro about the only Olympic quota of Costa Rican cycling confirmed until today.
Although she is clear that the place is not an exclusive achievement, she is emphatic in affirming that her only purpose in 2024 will be the Olympic Games. “In the end I am going to be ready, no matter what happens, my goal is that and my year 2024 is focused on that,” she stated.
Milagro recalled her first Olympic participation in Rio de Janeiro, highlighting that this experience motivates her even more, to bet everything on a new possibility.
“They are very mixed feelings, my first Olympic experience was something very particular, it was something that did not allow me to prepare the way I should have, it was something very sporadic. For people who don’t know, they called me on Thursday at 11:30 in the morning and told me: your plane leaves at 3:00 in the afternoon. I live in Orotina, I didn’t have my own car at that time, I looked to see how to get to the airport and I ran, ran because at that moment the possibility opened up. I had been 101st in the ranking, the first 100 classified, there was a sanction there in Rio and the next one to enter was me’, described the national time trial champion.
With her mind clear and her eyes set on a big dream, Milagro Mena ruled out her participation in Mountain Bike competitions and confirmed that she will not miss, for anything in the world, the grand finale of the Gran Fondo Andrey Amador. Then he will focus on his probable debut with the Soltec Iberoamerica Costa Calida in El Salvador.
Source: www.crciclismo.com