Athletes Mario Guerra and Yenny Contreras will go to the
Colombian city of Cali on Wednesday to represent Chile in the
taekwondo Pan-American Olympic Qualifier, which awards a place in
the 2008 Beijing Games to the top three in each category.
Guerra, who won a silver medal in the 68kg category at the South
Korea Open, reached the third round of the Paris Open, defeating
rivals from France and Britain, but then pulled out due to a knee
injury.
"I did not want to put myself at risk ahead of the Olympic
Qualifier," Guerra, 23, told media. "I am going to Cali confident
of winning a place." In his last Pan-American competition, in 2002,
Guerra won a bronze.
Contreras, who won bronze in the 49kg category at the Paris
Open, has been Pan-American champion in 1998, 2002 and 2004, but
has never won an Olympic place.
"For Sydney in 2000 the two top Olympic qualifiers went to the
Games and I won third place. For Athens in 2004 the top three World
Cup places went to the Games and I came fourth. So I am going to go
for it in Cali," she said.
The only time Chile competed in taekwondo in the Olympics was in
Sydney.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2007)