Amalia Perez of Mexico celebrates winning gold in the Women's 60kg Powerlifting at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
© • Credit IPC - Lautaro Cheppi
- Related Features
- PARAPANS: Mexico’s Perez a Powerlifting Queen
At the age of 35, Amalia Perez is a veteran on the powerlifting scene. She has been participating in the sport for over 20 years now, and during this period she has become one of Mexico’s most well-known Paralympians thanks to the success that she has acclaimed throughout her career.
Perez is coached by her husband, Jose Enrique Alvarado Paiz, and she trains four days per week.
She made her Paralympic debut at the Sydney 2000 Games, where she won the silver medal in the -52kg weight category.
After taking another silver medal at the 2002 IPC Powerlifting World Championships, at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, the Mexican dropped down a weight category in search of a gold medal; however, despite her best efforts she could once again only muster a silver.
Things changed after this event, though, as Perez went one better at the 2006 IPC Powerlifting World Championships, where she finally won a gold medal.
Then in Beijing, she set a new Paralympic record with a lift of 128kg en route to claiming her first Paralympic gold.
In 2012, Perez won her second Paralympic gold medal at the London Games in the -60kg weight category with a Paralympic-record lift of 135kg to prove to the world that she is only getting better with age.
