On behalf of the Venezuelan people, this Thursday the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, awarded the Francisco de Miranda Order, in its second and third class, on Paralympic medalists, diploma winners and guides, in recognition of their historic performance in the 16th Paralympic Games, held from August 24 to September 5 in Tokyo.
In an official ceremony held at Miraflores Palace, the national president conferred the Francisco de Miranda Order, in his second Precursor class, to gold medalists Lisbeli Vera and Linda Pérez, to silver medalist Luis Rodríguez and bronze medalist Clara Fuentes and Alejandra Pérez, for their achievements in taking the national tricolor to the Paralympic podium.
The Francisco de Miranda Order, in its third Official class, was imposed on athletes Wendis Mejías (javelin throw and shot put), Belkis Mota (100 meters free and chest), Greilyz Villarroel (for athletics 400 meters), Naibys Morillo (javelin throw), Marcos Blanco (for Judo), Norkelys González (for 400 meter athletics), Yomaira Cohen (shot impulse), Ericcson Bermúdez (100 meter chest), Edwars Varela (discus throw), Oriana Terán (for power), Wuinawis Hernández (for power) and Abraham Ortega (shot put).
This distinction was also conferred on athlete guides Álvaro Cassiani (Linda Pérez), Markinzon Manzanilla (Alejandra Pérez) and Edicson Medina (Greilyz Villarroel), as well as Cuban coach Isidoro Barthelemy.
Flag full of successes and victory!
Representing the 26 athletes of the Paralympic delegation, flag bearers Lisbeli Vera and Abraham Ortega presented the undefeated National Tricolor to the Head of State, who expressed his joy at receiving the banner “full of victory and success”.
“The name of Venezuela shines thanks to you, for the example of humanism, you gave a lesson in heroism and we were moved by the ability of human beings not to surrender to adversity,” said the Head of State, thanking them for having “led the name of our country at the top of the world, thank you on behalf of all Venezuela for the example of humanism and heroism that you have given”, he added.
“We gave the best we could and I hope it is a great joy for our country. We carry the flag with pride and took it to the top”, emphasized Abraham Ortega, recipient of the Paralympic diploma in shot put, F47 category.
With seven medals and 17 Paralympic diplomas, Tokyo 2020 became Venezuela’s best performance at the Paralympic Games, ranking 38th in the overall medal table.
“This is the delegation that has brought the best harvest in the entire history of the Paralympic Games,” added the Minister of People’s Power for Youth and Sports, Mervin Maldonado, who recalled that Venezuela has 24 Paralympic medals, distributed in four gold, seven silver and 13 bronze medals.
Of these 24 Paralympic medals, 23 have been obtained in Revolution and 13 of them in the last eight years.
Heading to Paris 2024
In this framework, the Minister of People’s Power for Sports, Mervin Maldonado, delivered to the Head of State the Paris 2024 Work Plan, a document that brings together 1,098 proposals whose public consultation took place between August 16 and September 7 with participation 35,940 people from 350 territories, 10 national sectors and five specialized sectors.
Maldonado explained that the consultation process focused on the areas of high performance, sports overcrowding, comprehensive care for athletes and coaches, sports infrastructure, international support for coaches and sports materials.
In this regard, President Nicolás Maduro reported that for December 2021 will be resumed the national games and for March 2022 the paranational games, and instructed the sports authorities to repair all the sports spaces that serve as training places for the athletes.
