Cuban athlete who returned bronze medal to Mexican: "I wanted justice to be done"

Laina Pérez, the Cuban sports shooting athlete who returned the bronze medal in the Central American Games to her Mexican rival Alejandra Cervantes, stated that with her action she wanted to do justice.

Pérez was the winner of the third place that the regulations awarded her, but which by score belonged to Cervantes. His gesture was widely recognized in sports media and social networks as an act of fair play.

In a interview Regarding the decision she made in recent days, the Cuban assured once again that The award was not hers. awarded in the 10 meter Air Pistol test, but to his rival, even if the regulations indicated otherwise.

"It's a medal that I didn't earn, but she earned it on the shooting line and I know what it takes to be in a competition and being a high-performance athlete (...) so that his efforts would not be recognized. It seemed very unfair to me that he didn't take his medal home," he expressed in the video published by the "Everything, But Football" profile.

In the contest, the Mexican Alejandra Cervantes had obtained third place but, according to the regulations of the games themselves, three medals cannot be awarded to athletes from the same country, and the also Mexican Andrea Ibarra and Alejandra Zavala had won gold and silver in this test.

In Pérez's opinion, the regulation is absurd and it should be modified in order to fairly grant a place on the podium to those who deserve it.

The Cuban acknowledged that the significance of her gesture filled her with satisfaction because she wants the Mexican to be recognized for her performance.

"I like that they see it in a good way because I wanted there to be justice in sport. Everyone is very happy with the attitude and knows that it was fair," he added.

With her attitude going viral on social networks, she hopes that Alejandra Cervantes can return home with her medal.

"After all the stress that the maelstrom of social networks has generated in me, if we manage to change this regulation I will be pleased," she concluded.