Prisca Awiti Alcaraz is the first Kenyan to win a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, albeit not representing the East African nation.
The 28-year-old judoka, born to a Mexican mother and Kenyan father, won silver for the Central American nation in the Judo 63kg category.
Her silver medal in the -63 kg category marks a historic achievement for her adopted country, even though she was not originally destined to represent it.
Born in London in 1996, Awiti Alcaraz didn’t have a love-at-first-sight relationship with Mexico. She recounted this herself in 2020: “My weight category was very competitive in the UK, I was very stressed, close to giving up. Then my coach asked if I could get a Mexican passport.”
The Londoner then called the Mexican Judo Federation and completed the paperwork in three months. The adaptation process was not a bed of roses. “My Spanish wasn’t very good and I had a language barrier, it was very frustrating, especially with my coach,” she stated.
Since 2017, when she was 21, she started internationally representing the Mexican colors, a country where she has spent long periods.
Judo wasn’t love at first sight either. Awiti Alcaraz’s brother, Philip, practiced it, but she was more interested in gymnastics, in which she competed with the UK under-12 team.
“My older brother, who was a high-level judoka winning medals at Grand Slam events and competing in World Championships, was a huge inspiration. I grew up seeing him as my idol and wanted to achieve what he did or even more,” she said in a recent statement to the Mexican government.
Mexican judo had never reached such heights before. Not even with the legendary Vanessa Zambotti, who competed in four consecutive Games in the +78 kg category without ever finishing among the top eight (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016).
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Additional reporting by Bein Sports
