This Thursday marks the conclusion of the National Youth Games in the Cafier Axis, with the Antioquia delegation securing its title against its traditional rivals, Valle del Cauca and Bogotá, who face each other in a fierce fight for the second place in the competition.
After an investment of almost 6 billion pesos during the year 2024 and a change in the approach to high performance in the region, this time the funds were used to support the leagues, bring together young athletes, participate in qualifications , buy uniforms and pay coaches, because “everyone was very spread out,” said Indeportes Antioquia director Luis Fernando Begué Trujillo.
He added that previously Antioquia only supported the main medalists, “and that was not good because we were destroying our sports development pyramid, so we had to make a lot of investments associated with this event.”
Begué Trujillo affirmed that this title is of extreme importance, “because it was our sports reserve that was crowned national champion. More than 267 of our athletes stood on the podium to receive gold, silver and bronze, and this makes us very happy, because sports development in Antioquia is secure.”
Begué Trujillo, a former volleyball player, highlighted that in each event, the youth of Antioquia competed fiercely in the competition venues. In addition, for him, being the winners of the first edition of these games is very significant in “the recovery of the leadership that we seek to establish.” There are now young athletes who are standing out to become high-level performers in the years to come. “The following is to regain the title of the National Games for adults.”
You may also be interested in: Top National Youth Games medalist, Arabian-born Tiffany Murillo contributed 10 medals to Antioquia’s title.
In the diligent work of Fernando Loaiza Gallego and the Press Office team, it was reported that in archery, Antioquia won 7 of the 14 gold medals available. In other disciplines the results were as follows: bowling (3 out of 4), BMX (2 out of 2), track cycling (9 out of 12), road cycling (3 out of 4), swimming (23 out of 36) , table tennis (6 out of 7 contested).
