Alexa Moreno "jumps over" the teasing.

Last Thursday, at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Qatar, a Mexican gymnast won for the first time ever a bronze medal in this event. The 24-year-old, Alexa Moreno, made history by scoring 14.508 points after performing in vault. For just a point behind Simone Biles from the United States and only 0.008 points behind the Canadian gymnast Shallon Olsen, Moreno achieved to climb the podium in third place.

She was the only Mexican female gymansts who managed to compete in Rio’s 2016 Olympics. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it to the finals, getting a 31st place.

Despite her great performance in The Olympics, Alexa won bad reputation due to her physical appereance. She became a source of teasing for a lot of Mexicans. There were lots of comments and memes of her and her body in social media, which honestly, was a shame.

It is unbelievable that we, as a society, tend to critize the bad side of a person, no matter the incredible achievements the person has made. Instead of supporting Alexa, who was the only Mexican who managed to make it to the Olympics, a lot of Mexicans made fun of her.

Of course, this didn’t stop Alexa from doing what she most loves in the world. She continued training for years, until she made it to her fourth world championship and her first international medal for her country.

Photo taken by V. Ghirda

Sources:

Alexa Moreno wins medal at World Gymnastics Championship. (2018, 3rd November). Retrieved November 03, 2018, http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/alexa-moreno-wins-medal-at-world-gymnastics-championship

Gymnast makes history in vault with first-ever medal for Mexico. (2018, 2nd November). Retrieved November 05, 2018, de https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/gymnast-makes-history-in-vault/