"It is never too late if happiness is good," says a saying that magnifies the present of Cuban judoka María Celia Laborde after her presence in the United States delegation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was officially confirmed this Wednesday.
Although her sports level was never in doubt, life and personal decisions postponed her debut under the shadow of the five rings: she was not in Rio de Janeiro 2016 nor in Tokyo 2020; however, this warrior of the tatamis did not give up on her goal and, at 33 years old, she will seek glory in the main sports stage in the world.
Another dream fulfilled, she wrote on her Facebook profile in reaction to the news, and the congratulations keep coming.
On behalf of her home country, the young athlete won the bronze medal with her team at the 2013 World Championship and returned to the podium the following year with a third-place finish in the 48-kilogram category at the Cheliabinsk World Championship in Russia, when she was one of the favorites for the gold medal.
Shortly after, he dominated the division at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico. Right there, he left the delegation, crossed the border, and disappeared from the competitive radars.
It is worth mentioning that Laborde always had the necessary attributes to maintain the achievements of a highly esteemed figure within Cuban sports, as previous stars such as Legna Verdecia, Amarilis Savón, and Yanet Bermoy have passed through.
After moving to the United States, Laborde obtained citizenship in 2022 and began competing that same season. In 2023, she made history as the first representative of that nation to earn a medal at the Masters Worlds since 2016, when she won silver, an achievement highlighted by the official website of American judo.
However, Paris 2024 will not be his debut in multi-sport events under the flag of the stars and stripes, as he achieved third place in the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile 2023.
The American team is completed by Angélica Delgado, Jack Yonezuka, and John Jayne, who also earned their spots after an extensive qualifying process through world rankings and additional continental-level quotas.
"This group has a mix of youth and experience, and I am excited for the future both in Paris and as we look towards Los Angeles (2028)," said U.S. Judo High Performance Director, Eddie Liddie, to the site.
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