Author name: Pablo Martínez

The Mexican cyclists Daniela Gaxiola and Yareli Acevedo will begin competing today, November 23, at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome in France. Mexican cyclists Luz Daniela Gaxiola González and Yareli Acevedo Mendoza are set to compete in the fourth season of the 2024 Track Cycling Champions League. Gaxiola will race in sprint events, while Acevedo will participate in endurance disciplines.      This prestigious event, organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), features the world’s top cyclists and will take place from November 23 to December 7 across three venues: Paris, the Netherlands, and London, with athletes from 26 countries.  The first round kicks off today, November 23, at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome in France, a venue that hosted the Paris 2024 Olympics. Events will include individual sprint, keirin, scratch, and elimination races.  The second and third rounds will follow on November 29 and 30 in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, making its debut as a host city. The final rounds will take place in London on December 6 and 7.      Also of interest: Daniela Gaxiola won bronze at the Nations Cup Track Cycling Notably, Gaxiola, a Sinaloa native, will compete in the league for the third time, while Acevedo, from Mexico City, makes her debut in this event, which brings together continental champions worldwide.  Since its inception in 2021, this international tournament has become a cornerstone of the UCI calendar alongside the World Championships, Nations Cup, and the Olympic Games.

Andrea Astrain, a Mexican figure skater, returned to competition at the 2024 NRW Trophy after recovering from an injury, finishing in 12th place. Her goal is to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Astrain Maynez, a national team figure skater, participated in her first competitive event after recovering from a knee injury, which had forced her to take a break from skating. She competed in the 2024 NRW Trophy, held from November 13 to 17 in Dortmund, Germany, finishing in 12th place with a total of 104.99 points across her two routines.     “It was my first event back after the knee injury, which made me step away from skating, and now I’m rebuilding. I’m very grateful for all the support from CONADE that allowed me to compete again and I’m ready to continue the season,” said the skater, who had a meeting with Rommel Pacheco, the director-general of the Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte (CONADE), to discuss her preparations for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Astrain, originally from Sonora, began practicing figure skating at the age of 13 after moving to Mexico City and discovering an ice rink. In a short period, she became the national youth champion and is currently the senior national champion. She also qualified for the 2022 Junior World Championships. This season, the Mexican skater aims to accumulate points in the international rankings, which will allow her to participate in the most relevant competitions. Her long-term goal is to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.     Also of interest: Donovan Carrillo concluyó participación en torneo nacional rumbo al Mundial 2025 “My next events are the National Championship, which will be this weekend in Metepec, State of Mexico, and then we’ll have another international competition in Istanbul, Turkey, on December 5. My goal there is to accumulate points and improve areas of opportunity because there’s always room for improvement,” said the 21-year-old athlete, who is training under the guidance of Gregorio Núñez, the first coach of Donovan Carrillo. “For me, figure skating means many things. First of all, it’s what I love doing most in life, and it represents a lot of effort, discipline, beauty, freedom, movement, challenges, and obstacles. But above all, it’s about self-improvement and never giving up—it’s my favorite phrase,” emphasized the figure skater.

Guadalajara hosts the Para Swimming World Series 2024 from November 21-24, with 218 athletes from 11 countries. Mexico will seek to surpass its 46 medals from 2023. For the second consecutive year, Guadalajara, Jalisco, will host the Para Swimming World Series, which will take place from November 21 to 24. This event is part of the qualification process for the Para Swimming World Championship in Singapore 2025.     In this edition, 218 athletes from 11 countries will participate, highlighting the presence of 158 Mexican swimmers, of which 83 are men and 75 are women. Among the most outstanding representatives are Haydee Viviana Aceves Pérez, double silver medalist at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games; Jesús Alberto Gutiérrez Bermúdez, bronze winner at Paris 2024; and Patricia Valle Benítez, a historical figure with eight Paralympic Games in her career and 11 medals in total.     The official opening will take place today, November 21, at 7:30 p.m. (Mexico Central Time) at the Guadalajara Metropolitan Aquatic Center. Preliminary competitions will begin at 9:00 a.m., and the finals will be held starting at 5:00 p.m. One of the most outstanding athletes in this sport is Fabiola Ramírez, originally from León, Guanajuato, who has been recognized as the best female athlete with a high degree of disability in 2021 and 2022 by the World Para Swimming Series. In the 2023 edition, Mexico achieved an excellent performance, winning 46 medals: 14 gold, 20 silver, and 12 bronze.     This international competition, organized by World Para Swimming, was held for the first time in Mexico in 2022, in Tijuana, Baja California.