Former athlete who represented Puerto Rico Victor Lopez, current member of the board of World Athletics and the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, talks about the good administration carried out in Cali for the execution of the World U20 Athletics Championships.
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“I qualify the championship as a great success and excellence in terms of the organization of the competition and in the performances of the athletes, many of them from small and underdeveloped or developing countries,” said Lopez, also highlighting the participation of delegations representing underdeveloped countries, a factor that boosts sports development in this type of places with special needs.
In addition to this, the fact that this year these youth athletic events have been held in Colombian territory, and that the next edition is planned to be held in Lima, Peru, says a lot about the interest of World Athletics in promoting multidisciplinary sports in this region.
The World Athletics program “cultivates and popularizes the love for athletics in our countries and children fall in love and practice it, since it is a sport where any individual can practice due to its diversification. It also helps sports tourism and tourism in general,” says who has also been an athletics coach on multiple occasions and considers it important to promote this sport among young people.
“With everyone from my friend and leader of Athletics, Sebastian Coe, to tourists, parents, coaches from the USA who are here recruiting, athletes and coaches of the participating delegations, all have told me the great experience they have lived in Cali and expressed positively about all aspects of the championship. I want to highlight the magnificent production of Telepacífico who have done an exceptional job and a great first class quality. I do not remember having seen such an excellent transmission and I have more than six decades dedicated to this sport in many different capacities.”
On the other hand, he has recognized the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium as a stage of the highest quality to hold even a senior championship:
“Definitely the Pascual Guerrero stadium could be the stage for a senior world cup. Of course, it will have to be modernized in many areas, but the base is definitely there and it would be a wonderful scenario”.
Finally, he could not say goodbye without first congratulating the work of the Local Organizing Committee, headed by its president Ramiro Varela.
“My congratulations to the Organizing Committee and its President, Ramiro Varela and to all volunteers who are anonymous heroes and finally to the great city of Santiago De Cali and to Colombia.”
