Amalia Perez

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Amalia Perez of Mexico celebrates winning gold in the Women's 60kg Powerlifting at the London 2012 Paralympic Games © • Credit IPC - Lautaro Cheppi

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PARAPANS: Mexico’s Perez a Powerlifting Queen

Amalia Perez is well established on the Para 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 women's up to 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 women's up to 60kg weight category with a Paralympic-record lift of 135kg to prove to the world that she is only getting better with age.

And that is exactly what she has continued to do, winning World Championships gold in the women's up to 61kg in Dubai, UAE, in 2014.

In 2015, as well as gold at the first IPC Powerlifting Americas Open Championships, she set a new world record at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games.

And at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Perez secured her third consecutive gold medal with a new world record of 130kg, the third time she has held a world best mark.

In 2017 Perez will follow-on from her Paralympic exploits by competing at her home World Para Powerlifting Championships in Mexico City.