Courtesy of: The Morning news
The South American sporting calendar has a major continental competition, the Juegos Suramericanos de la Juventud – the South American Youth Games for athletes aged 14 to 17 years. The competition was created during the general assembly of the South American Sports Organization (Odesur), held on May 25 in Santiago, Chile.
The first edition of the competition is about to take place in Lima, Peru from September 20 to 29, with a have a sports program with 17 disciplines: track and field, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo, wrestling, swimming, weight lifting, rowing, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, triathlon and sailing.
Aruba is sending nine athletes who will be competing in various events. They are training very hard to be will prepared for the competitions. In the coming days, the Aruba Olympic Committee will introduce our athletes who will represent our island during this big event.
Our first athlete is petite Judo athlete: Emmazira Kelly
AOC: For how long have you been practicing Judo? Why did you choose this sport?
EK: I have 6 years practicing this sport. In reality I started when I was very small, just as a hobby but now I am training in earnest. It is something in the family, so I also wanted to be a Judo athlete.
AOC: What do you think about when you hear that combat sport is more something for boys and not girls?
EK: That is not true, it helps you with your self defense. It helps you with your character, making it stronger as a female.
AOC: You are preparing yourself for a competition in another country. Can you tell us more about this?
EK: I am training for a competition to be held in Miami. I am training daily, gym in the morning and judo training in the afternoon. I have been preparing myself intensively for 1 year, for this moment. I hope to make Aruba proud. (Emmazira just returned from the U.S. with a number of bronze medals.)
AOC: The expectations for the Youth South American Games are very high. What can we expect from you?
EK: I always dreamt of participating in an Olympic game. The Youth South American Games is the first step in realizing this dream, I really want to excel in Peru.
AOC: Do you have any message for the Aruban youth?
EK: Believe in yourself. Practice sports, go to school, study and in your free time, do something healthy
Our second candidate is taekwondo athlete: Jayda Mejia
AOC: When did you begin practicing taekwondo?
JM: I started at the age of 7, I have 8 years of practicing this sport and doing well.
AOC: Why, being a girl, did you choose a martial art?
JM: I always liked to watch karate movies. One day I said to my father that I wanted to try out a martial art sport, so he signed me up for taekwondo.
AOC: How are your preparations for the Youth South American Games going?
JM: We have been training very hard for 6 to 8 months. We train 6, sometimes 7 days a week, even twice a day. Each training session lasts 2 hours
AOC: What are your aspirations regarding this event?
JM: I have already participated in various international tournament, but never one of such a magnitude. I have won gold medals in international tournament, among others in Venezuela, Suriname and Puerto Rico. I am doing my utmost to obtain good results in Peru
AOC: What is your strongest and your weakest technique
JM: My greatest strength is speed, my feet are very fast. And I dedicate a lot of time in my strength
AOC: What is your message for our youth?
JM: If you are already practicing a sport, keep going, it is really fun; and, finish school!
