Judokas from Tulum's municipal schools win 10 medals at national tournament in Oaxaca

Judokas from Tulum's municipal sports schools won 10 medals, six of them gold, at the Manuel Larrañaga Bonavides y Rivera National Judo Tournament in Oaxaca.

The tally included one silver and three bronze medals alongside the golds, and four more athletes placed fifth in their categories, according to the results released by the municipal Youth and Sports Department, the Dirección de Juventud y Deportes, which operates the schools where the entire delegation trains. The department presented the outcome as a result that, in its words, put the name of Tulum on high.

The distinction is the story. These are not athletes from a private academy. All 10 medals were won by judokas trained in Tulum's public sports schools, the program the department maintains so that young residents can train, compete, and carry the municipality's name at national tournaments. The department said the group represented the municipality with dignity.

Thirteen athletes appear in the report. Nine of them came home with medals.

Six golds anchor the medal count

Miranda Emiliana Chimal Cruz, Ivanna Lily Molina Vázquez, Mateo Gabriel Medina Cruz, Thaily Sofía Molina Mayo, César Eduardo Santamaría Ruiz and Naomi Dubai Cardona Salazar won the six gold medals.

Ariadna Yarey Chávez Medina added the silver. The bronze medals went to Maximiliano Eliahu Vázquez Cámara, Dylan Gael Itza Zaval and Naomi Dubai Cardona Salazar, each in their respective categories.

The shape of the tally stands out. Tulum's judokas won more golds than silvers and bronzes combined, six against four, at a tournament that carries the name of Prof. Manuel Larrañaga Bonavides y Rivera and draws competitors at the national level. No breakdown of weight classes or age divisions accompanied the list.

Naomi Cardona doubles up on the podium

Cardona Salazar is the name that repeats. The department lists her among the gold medalists and again among the bronze winners, in separate categories. No other member of the delegation left Oaxaca with two medals.

Nine judokas won 10 medals between them. She is the difference in the math.

The municipal program behind Tulum's judo results

Every athlete on the list reached Oaxaca through the sports schools the Youth and Sports Department runs in the municipality. Judo is one of the disciplines trained there. In its report, the department described the results as a reflection of the talent and discipline of Tulum's young judokas, and of the work the schools put into strengthening local sports development.

That work is the program's stated purpose. The sports schools exist to develop competitors within the municipality and to place them in national events like the one in Oaxaca, where the medal table is the most visible measure of what the training produces.

Four more names, all of them fifth

Jade Lemus, Alfredo Chan, Christopher Vázquez and Iker Navarro did not reach the podium, and the department named them anyway. All four placed fifth in their categories.

Their names close the results sheet under a heading of their own, a recognition for performance rather than for a medal. What the report does not say is which national competition the municipal schools will point these 13 athletes toward next.

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