- Title: MEXICO: Taekwondo athlete hopes to make country proud
- Date: 2nd July 2008
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MEXICAN TAEKWONDO ATHLETE, GUILLERMO PEREZ, STRETCHING PEREZ TRAINING WITH MEXICAN TAEKWONDO TEAM MEMBERS MEXICAN TAEKWONDO TEAM COACH, JOSE LUIS ONOFRE MEXICAN TAEKWONDO TEAM TRAINING TOGETHER VARIOUS OF PEREZ STRETCHING PEREZ STRETCHING WITH MEXICAN TAEKWONDO TEAM PHYSICIAN ONOFRE WITH MEXICAN TAEKWONDO TEAM MEMBERS MEXICAN TAEKWONDO TEAM AT START OF TRAINING SESSION PEREZ VARIOUS OF PEREZ TRAINING ONOFRE GIVING INSTRUCTIONS PEREZ TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN TAEKWONDO ATHLETE, GUILLERMO PEREZ, SAYING: "I started (practicing) this sport I think, when I was young, because I used to see films about martial arts and I liked them a lot. In particular I used to see Bruce Lee films. He used to appear throwing kicks and I was a bit hyperactive when I was a child. My mother decided that I should practice and I liked throwing kicks. That's when my career as a taekwondo athlete began. It's been a 23-year long career which I have enjoyed a lot and we have accomplished very good results." VARIOUS OF PEREZ TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN TAEKWONDO ATHLETE, GUILLERMO PEREZ, SAYING: "I think that I'm a very strong (competitor). I employ strength 100 percent when I'm fighting. I look to be close to clashes and to look for contact with the rivals and that sometimes has given good results. When I'm competing and I handle my mobility in the area, when there's an exchange, a clash, I always feel that I'm stronger than them and that gives me an advantage." PEREZ TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN TAEKWONDO ATHLETE, GUILLERMO PEREZ, SAYING: "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity one gets and so I have to make the most of it. I'm going to fight until the end for my dream which is to win an Olympic medal, to be on the podium, to see my flag up there." PEREZ TRAINING
- Embargoed: 17th July 2008 18:52
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Sport
- Reuters ID: LVADQD88H9K8DIJGIYFLI9V4RNKY
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Mexican taekwondo athlete hopes to win a medal so as to impress a country which has produced taekwondo Olympic medalists in the past.
Just like any other Olympic hopeful, taekwondo athlete Mexican Guillermo Perez would love to bring home a medal to make a country of taekwondo winners proud.
Fighting has been Perez's passion since he was a child.
Twenty-eight year-old Perez was born in Uruapan, in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.
When he was five years-old, his mother enrolled him into a taekwondo school because he was very hyperactive and wanted to calm his impulsive character. Perez had always expressed an interest in martial arts and admired Bruce Lee films.
He has come a long way since those early days.
During a career spanning 23 years, he has competed in junior and senior championships. He secured his place on the national taekwondo team in 1999.
Perez showed his potential when he won fly weight (54kg - 58 kg) gold at the 2004 Pan American Taekwondo Championships in Argentina.
He took bronze at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena.
But his best year so far has been 2007, when he won fly weight (54kg - 58 kg) silver at the World Championships in Beijing, missing out on gold to Spaniard Jose Antonio Ramos.
Perez obtained his ticket to Beijing in December last year after winning silver in Cali's Pan American Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Event.
In preparation for the games he trains three times a day at the Mexican Olympic Sports Centre with his coach, Jose Luis Onofre and Mexican taekwondo team members, hoping he'll be in even better physical shape in time for the Olympics.
He spoke to Reuters about his beginnings.
"I started (practicing) this sport I think, when I was young, because I used to see films about martial arts and I liked them a lot. In particular I used to see Bruce Lee films. He used to appear throwing kicks and I was a bit hyperactive when I was a child. My mother decided that I should practice and I liked throwing kicks. That's when my career as a taekwondo athlete began. It's been a 23-year long career which I have enjoyed a lot and we have accomplished very good results."
He feels optimistic due to his experience and believes his strength will help him.
"I think that I'm a very strong (competitor). I employ strength 100 percent when I'm fighting. I look to be close to clashes and to look for contact with the rivals and that sometimes has given good results. When I'm competing and I handle my mobility in the area, when there's an exchange, a clash, I always feel that I'm stronger than them and that gives me an advantage."
A winner's mentality is key and Perez hopes to climb on to the podium.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity one gets and so I have to make the most of it. I'm going to fight until the end for my dream which is to win an Olympic medal, to be on the podium, to see my flag up there."
Guillermo carries with great responsibility. Taekwondo has given Mexico three medals in the past two Olympic Games and the country hopes this sport will continue producing medals for Mexico.
Perez will compete in the -58kg event in China.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will take place from August 8-24. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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