Skip to main content
12221
Go to International Paralympic Committee homepage Official website of the Paralympic Movement
Contrast:
High Contrast
Normal Contrast
Enlargement:
Larger Font Size
Default Font Size
Smaller Font Size
    • Home
    • Paralympic Games
    • Events & Competitions
    • The IPC
    • Results, Rankings & Records
    • Media centre
    • Sports
    • Classification
    • Videos
    • Athletes
    • Fan Zone
    • NPCs
    • Agitos Foundation
    • Partnerships
    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • Instagram

    Media Centre

    • News
    • Blogs
    • Newsletter
    • Magazine
    • Athlete of Month
    • Media Office
    • Ones to Watch
    • Campaigns
    • Top 10 Moments

    Mexico’s Jose Estrada focuses on Tokyo, studies

    02.11.2016

    The 21-year-old Para triathlete is taking his results from Rio 2016 as a positive step moving forward.

    Two men in wet suits coming out of the water Mexican Para triathlete Jose Abraham Estrada Sierra during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. © • Jose Abraham Estrada Sierra
    By Kyle Rinaudo | For the IPC
    Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker
    Related News
    Grace Norman celebrates historic Para triathlon victory
    Top five dual-sport athletes at Rio 2016
    Ten European athletes who stood out at Rio 2016
    USA Para Triathlon announces development roster

    “You know, I had trained really hard to make myself better, and in the end, well, that’s the happy place, right?”

    Mexican Para triathlete Jose Abraham Estrada Sierra did not leave the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with a medal, but he takes his sixth-place finish as a positive start toward Tokyo 2020.

    “It was a very exciting experience, because it was our first showing [in the Paralympics],” Estrada said. “Sure, it was expected for us to take home a medal, [but] more just to see how we trained, how we stacked up amongst the competitors.”

    The 21-year-old was one of three Latin Americans to qualify for Para triathlon in Rio; Brazil was allotted two automatic qualification slots as a host nation.

    Estrada started strong coming off the swim in second, but he faded in the bike and run segments for sixth place in the PT4, the most competitive category in the men’s events.

    “La mente está en Tokyo,” he said.

    Translation: My focus is on Tokyo.

    “My satisfaction would have been to stand on the podium. But, that is something that in the next cycle, I’m going to aim for.”

    The sport was contested for the first time at a Paralympic Games. That is a source of optimism for Estrada, who hopes Para triathlon’s increased visibility will mean more children in Mexico will try the sport, like he did.

    “There are plenty of athletes who have aims of participating and excelling. Thanks to God, I have had the opportunity of doing that,” he said. “Without a doubt, with the next year, the next cycle, I think that this sport is going to grow, and if so, we’re going to do a lot more.”

    Not a footballer

    Despite trying other adaptive sports, Estrada admits that playing team sports with his friends never succeeded in fulfilling his competitive desire.

    “In Mexico, when you’re kids, you’re taught to play football, basketball, and those types of sports in teams. But I liked the individual sports more. So I was looking for that, and I went to triathlon,” Estrada said.

    That was just three years ago, when Estrada was only 18 years old. It was around this time that Abraham’s training team gave him his friendly nickname, “Oso,” meaning “Bear” in Spanish. But he admitted that “Oso” is actually short for “Esponjoso,” meaning “fluffy,” because when he began full-time training, he said he was “un poquito gordito,” meaning “a little chubby.”

    But the sport has slimmed him into an athlete.

    His first International Triathlon Union (ITU) competition was the 2014 Dallas PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championships, where he finished third. He won the national title in 2014 and was second in the 2016 American Championships, showing that he is one of the best in the region. On the ITU World Para Triathlon Event circuit, his best finish was second in Yokohama, Japan, earlier this year before Rio 2016.

    “After the second place finish in Yokohama, I felt very sure that I would be able to have a good showing in Rio,” Estrada said. “I felt strong, and excited with the gains from my training and improving that much. All that I wanted more was to repeat climbing that podium, in Rio.”

    Balancing training and studies

    Estrada is fixed firmly on future competitions — and his medical career.

    “It’s a little tough, but it can be done,” said the Guadalajara native.

    Estrada trains for six hours every afternoon from 2 pm to 7 pm. The mornings are devoted to his studies; he is a medical student at the University of Guadalajara.

    He knows he did his best at Rio and in the end, that is all he can ask for.

    “I was hopeful for my first time competing [in Rio],” he said. “I felt excited to participate for the first time and to develop myself, to go in the name of my country, in the name of my team and my family. And I was happy to have met the other competitors, who were well known to me.

    “You know, I had trained really hard to make myself better, and in the end, well, that’s the happy place, right?”

    • Tweet
      • print
      • send
    LATEST NEWS
    Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation 05.08.2019 Nadezhda Fedorova suspended for anti-doping violation
    Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude 05.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: USA top table as Junior Worlds conclude
    Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day 04.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Breathless third day
    Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way 03.08.2019 Nottwil 2019: Noah Malone makes his way
    Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month 02.08.2019 Vote for July’s Athlete of the Month
    More news...following the link
    Worldwide Paralympic Partners
    Go to Atos partner page
    Go to Bridgestone partner page
    Go to OttoBock partner page
    Go to Panasonic partner page
    Go to Samsung partner page
    Go to Toyota partner page
    Go to Visa partner page
    International Partners
    Go to Allianz partner page
    Go to BP partner page
    Go to Citi partner page
    • FAQ
    • Privacy
    • Imprint
    • Jobs
    Powered by Go to Atos. Worldwide IPC partner page
    The Paralympic Games
    Summer Games
    Winter Games
    Sochi 2014
    Rio 2016
    All the results & medallist since 1960
    Games video archive
    About the IPC
    Who we are
    Anti-Doping
    Medical
    Partners
    IPC Strategic Plan 2015-2018
    IPC Handbook
    Publications and Documents
    Media Centre
    News
    Features & Interviews
    The Paralympian
    Videos
    Athlete of the Month
    Media Office
    Sports
    Summer Sports
    Winter Sports
    Biographies
    NPCS
    Africa
    America
    Asia
    Europe
    Oceania
    Go to International Paralympic Committee homepage
    Official Website of the Paralympic Movement • IPC
    Homepage
    Paralympic Games
    The IPC
    Results, Ranking & Records
    Media Centre
    Videos
    Sports
    International Paralympic Committee (IPC)
    Adenauerallee 212-214, 53113 Bonn, Germany
    Telephone: +49-228-2097-200 • Fax: +49-228-2097-209 • E-mail: [email protected]
    16:04:41