The Costa Rican Ariana Coto climbed to the podium of the Citi Para Swimming World Series, winning two medals: a gold in the 50-meter butterfly, junior category, and a bronze in the same event, but in the senior category, class S7.
The competition took place at the Metropolitan Aquatic Center in Jalisco, Mexico, where 218 para-athletes from twelve countries participated. Ariana stood out not only for her medals but also for qualifying for all the finals, managing to surpass her personal bests.
Very gratifying competition
“It was a very gratifying competition for me and my coach.” “We achieved the goals of lowering times in most events and we also brought back two medals; additionally, I managed to reach all the finals, which makes me very happy to see my performance,” said Ariana.
In addition to her international achievement, Coto had an outstanding performance in the National and Paranational Sports Games Guanacaste 2024, where she won three gold medals and one silver in different events. For her part, Sara Miranda, another Costa Rican representative, improved several personal records before withdrawing from the event for health reasons.
An excellent start
Coach Fernando García highlighted that both athletes met expectations and made an excellent start on their path to the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. “In summary, the participation in the Citi Para Swimming World Series was excellent, Ariana improved four personal bests: 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 200 individual medley, and 400 freestyle, and in Sara’s case, she improved her times in the 50 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.” Both met their expectations,” expressed García.
The World Series held in Jalisco marked the beginning of the Paralympic cycle towards the Los Angeles 2028 Games and is key in the qualifying process for the Singapore 2025 World Championship.
