Paris 23: Mexico’s Rosa Maria Guerrero makes her mark

Rosa Maria Guerrero still gets goosebumps when she thinks about her Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020. She captured bronze in the discus throw and was surprised at the weight of the medal during the victory ceremony in the Japanese capital. 

Two years later, the Mexican athlete set another milestone in her career, winning her long-awaited gold medal at the Paris 23 Para Athletics World Championships. After she was presented with it, she took a deep breath and turned it over and over to embrace the weight of the medal. 

The 38-year-old athlete topped the podium in the women’s discus throw F55 on Sunday (9 July), recording a throw of 26.12m to top the field. She finished 0.42m ahead of silver medallist Erica Castano of Colombia. Latvia’s Diana Krumina claimed bronze. 

“It’s the World Championships – it’s very important for me. I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” she said. “My family and of course my coach are the biggest motivation I have. They have supported me from the start of my journey.” 

From Tokyo to Paris 

Guerrero says she has always been an athlete – she used to be a football player before she started using a wheelchair. She took up Para athletics in 2016 and quickly showed her potential. 

She competed at the World Para Athletics Championships in London a year after taking up the sport, finishing third in shot put and ninth in the discus throw. The athlete then travelled to Dubai for the next Worlds in 2019, where she finished fourth in the discus throw. 

“I really like athletics because it is pure discipline. It's like explosiveness, constant work and training. Most of all, we have a wonderful team and I have the best coach in Mexico.” 

At Tokyo 2020, she took part in the women’s discus throw F55, finishing third behind gold medallist Feixia Dong of China and silver medallist Krumina. 

“I was a rookie at the Games. I was prepared to give everything,” she said. “It was shocking to wear the weight of the bronze medal because I had been working so hard. 

“I’m a very disciplined athlete and I’ve worked every day to achieve this goal. It’s well deserved.” 

She keeps the bronze medal in a suitcase in her house along with many other important keepsakes. The Para athlete hopes to add a Paralympic gold medal to her collection at next year’s Games in Paris. 

 “I’ve worked hard the last few years and I’ve improved a lot. That shows in the result from the World Championships and I’ll continue working because the Paralympic Games in Paris are approaching.” 

Making Mexico proud 

And she is not doing it alone – she has athletes working with her, with the same goal. She has seen the Paralympic Movement grow in Mexico since she started Para sports. 

“Mexico is very very strong, athletes are disciplined and wonderful, competitive. Above all, we fight to achieve our dreams. We need to continue working hard. From here we start a new challenge.” 

Follow the action from Paris 23 via the Paralympics YouTube and Facebook, plus live results on the World Para Athletics website.