Throwing for gold: Azuay veterans triumph at the National Veterans Judo Championships

It was a golden weekend for Azuay. At Ecuador’s National Veterans Judo Championship in Azogues, the local team didn’t just compete, they completely dominated national opposition from several other provinces.

Patricio Castillo Alemán and Patricio Caldas, two of Ecuador’s oldest judokas.

The judokas from Cuenca and across Azuay really took control of the tatami and brought home 13 gold medals, 12 silver, and 7 bronze. Victories came in every weight class, from the speediest lightweights to the rumbling heavyweights who make the mats shake.

Team captain Diana Santana called the results “the product of discipline and teamwork,” while coach Patricio Bermeo added that it also took “a lot of heart.”

The championship, held in Azogues on October 11 and 12, gathered the country’s top veteran athletes. For the Azuay team, it was recognition of many years of practice in Cuenca’s training halls, where worn mats share space with big dreams.

The judo program is open to all adults who love the sport. Participants pay only ten dollars a month, while the government, through the Azuay Sports Federation, covers the salaries of coaches, psychologists, and doctors, and maintains the facilities.

Azuay team captain Diana Santana and Mariana Guaman display the Cuenca Azuay Province flag.

Among the weekend’s medalists, none drew more applause than Mariana del Rosario Guamán Ramón. She began judo at the age of seven, retired from competition at eighteen, and returned to the tatami a year and a half ago at age thirty-five. Her comeback was complete this weekend when she won a gold medal for Azuay in the female veteran 57kg class. Outside the dojo, she runs a successful sports massage business in Cuenca, specializing in therapeutic and relaxation treatments.*

Another standout was Patricio Castillo Alemán, Ecuador’s oldest active judoka, who has practiced for more than fifty years. Wearing glasses in the team photo where he is pictured with Patricio Caldas, he also brought home gold last weekend, proving that age is no obstacle to strength or competitive spirit.

Now, with the national title secured, Azuay’s veterans look ahead to the South American and Pan-American tournaments. As one competitor said with a grin, “You can take us off the mats, but you can never take the judo out of Azuay.”
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* Can be contacted for appointments at WS +593 99 180 0956 and is offering a lottery draw for a free 1-hour chocotherapy appointment lottery to clientes nuevos for all of Octubre.