Mexico claims first medal of the Tokyo Olympics
The first Olympic archery results came in on Saturday and the Mexicans Alejandra Valencia and Luis Álvarez defeated Turkey to win the bronze medal.
The Olympic archery campaign got underway on Saturday with South Korea (An San; Kim Je Deok) defeating Netherlands (Gabriela Schloesser; Steve Wijler) 5-3 in the final match for the gold medal. The surprise came in the third place match between Mexico and Turkey.
South Korea retained the gold they won in the last Olympic tournament in Rio - the country has won 14 of 17 gold medals in archery team competitions since 1988. “There still was pressure. But we did our best. After this Olympics, we’re not sure if we’re selected for the next Olympic Games,” An said after winning the gold.
First medal for Mexico at the 2020 Olympics
🚨 DESPIERTEN TODOS, MEDALLA HISTÓRICA🚨
— AS México (@ASMexico) July 24, 2021
🇲🇽 México obtiene su primera medalla en #Tokyo2020
Alejandra Valencia y Luis Álvarez se llevan el #bronce en Tiro con Arco equipo mixto
¡Felicidades! @micozito @abueloalvarez10 Todo México está orgulloso de ustedes 🙌🏻
¡Vamos México 🇲🇽! pic.twitter.com/PFgd7gg8Pl
Mexico defeated Germany 6-2 in the first elimination round, then in the quarter-final Alejandra Valencia and Luis Álvarez combined to defeat Britain with a 6-0 score. In the semi-final they failed to defeat South Korea, losing 5-1, but put themselves in a position to secure a medal.
The bronze medal match was between Mexico and Turkey, Valencia and Álvarez defeating Yasemin Anagoz and Mete Gazoz 6-2. The Yumenoshima Park Archer Field heard the national anthem of Mexico for the first time at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“We don’t keep anything for ourselves. We communicate everything we feel, everything we’re thinking,” Valencia said. “We tried to be happy and enjoy the fact we’re here, the fact we made it all the way here.”