- Title: ECUADOR: Ecuadorean jumper hopes PanAm Games will lead him to Olympics
- Date: 23rd June 2007
- Summary: QUITO, ECUADOR (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HUGO CHILA, 19-YEAR-OLD TRIPLE JUMP CHAMPION, SAYING: "As I was connected from the beginning, I was a walker about four years ago and I retired. I dedicated myself to the triple jump and the long jump."
- Embargoed: 8th July 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ecuador
- Country: Ecuador
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA3225W4ZQGFZVD47V3KVSRA2NC
- Story Text: Ecuadorean jumper hopes PanAm Games will lead him to Olympics.
Ecuadorean triple and long jump athlete Hugo Chila hopes to prove that he is a world champion at next month's Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Chila already proved himself a top contender in the triple jump last year when he took second place at the World Junior Championships.
The 19-year-old Chila has participated in a variety of athletic events.
"As I was connected from the beginning, I was a walker about four years ago and I retired. I dedicated myself to the triple jump and the long jump," he said.
Chila sees success at the Pan American Games as an important step in his athletic career.
"(Referring to the Pan American Games) A very important competition that has been part of my life too, because it is what I need and what I most aspire to compete in, because all the athletes go to the world level, almost. The majority will be from Brazil, Cuba, that are the most interesting to me," he said.
Ultimately, he wants to be an Olympic athlete.
"My vision... I aspire to be on a podium in the Olympics. I am training for this," he said.
Chila's confidence was apparent when he was asked what athletes he admired.
"The athletic figure... myself, because I am giving the most I can give, and it is for this that I do not have (another) referral," he said.
Chila's trainer, Hugo Cifuentes, has been helping the jumper prepare for the competition.
"Hugo's training is fundamentally based in strength and stability, it is very exhausting," he said.
Cifuentes is optimistic about the athlete's chances of becoming an Olympian.
"When we think of Hugo, we think of Olympic Hugo, we think of 2016, so everything that will continue to grow gradually will be better."
The Pan Am Games begins in Rio de Janeiro on July 13. Some 5,500 athletes will take part in 28 different sports. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
