By Rogelio Adonican Osorio |
Panama City (EFE).- Karla Navas, one of the prodigies of Panamanian gymnastics, told EFE that what she did just for fun at the time has become a passion that brings her closer to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games , where he could emulate his grandfather who competed in weightlifting in the Mexico’68 jousts.
“I have followed the sporting path of my grandfather, Guillermo Boyd. First I went to the Bolivarian Games and won bronze, and my mother told me that my grandfather won a bronze medal in these games, and then he went to the Central American and Caribbean Games and won three medals and well, I won four in these last ones”, the 18-year-old athlete specified between laughs.
That is why the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games that concluded last week were different and special for the gymnast. She knew that her grandfather had won medals, though she revealed that she “never” expected to win a gold medal.
In these games the main challenge was to overcome Mexico, “which is a very great power in gymnastics.”
His brilliance at the Central American Games
Navas was the main figure for Panama in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, obtaining a gold and three silver medals, one per team, being the first time that a woman achieved that many medals in any discipline. The feat caused gymnastics to become the protagonist of the games.
Navas stressed that his career is taking shape, and as his mother explains, it bears a special resemblance to his grandfather’s career.
“Everything I am I owe to my family, especially my grandfather Guillermo Boyd, who is a very important person in my life. I couldn’t meet him, but what I do know is that he carried me and I say that when he carried me he gave me all his positive energy from the sport, ”he said.
She recalls that when her mother, national gymnastics champion Veronica Boyd, first took her to a gym, it was all for fun, but seeing young people riding the bar, beam or doing somersaults, she fell in love with the discipline. .
“I saw Isabela Amado, I saw Valentina Brostella, who is my teammate now, in her routines, and that really caught my attention. So when I was growing up, my mom little by little got me into the gym, and here I am, ”she reveals.
New challenges for Karla Navas
Karla Navas is getting ready for the Gymnastics World Cup, which will take place from September 30 to October 8, and for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games (from October 20 to November 5), where she will compete as a team.
In the Pan American Games he has great expectations, wanting to “leave Panama on high.”
For the World Cup, which will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, the objective is “to do a good job, improve my grades and seek the Olympic quota.”
“In the World Cup I don’t think about a medal, because of the high competitive level, but if one falls it wouldn’t be a bad thing,” he said.
a new generation
For Navas, the long-term goals are studies, so after the Pan American Games she will take a break from gymnastics to study physiotherapy.
“I am thinking of starting university the next year, to go more calmly and concentrate more on my studies,” he explained.
She also recognized that although gymnastics in Panama goes unnoticed, she hopes that with the good results she and her teammates are achieving, the new generations will have a better level.
“It makes me very happy to know that we inspire more girls every day to practice gymnastics and to know that with our efforts we do something good for this sport and its future generations,” she remarked.