Alejandra USQUIANO: “my victory was the fruit of hard work”

Along with Sara LOPEZ, she will be the first archer to represent Colombia in the World Cup Final tomorrow in Paris.

What a way to break through on the world scene, with individual and team gold medals for your first World Cup season, and earn a qualification to the Final!
The first World Cup in Turkey was a great joy for us to have achieved a team and an individual gold. For our first team final, we faced a very strong team. It was very beautiful, very emotional, something that I can’t describe. To reach the final again in Medellin was to prove we could do it again. Prior to Medellin, everybody was telling me that it’s my country, my city, and asked me if I was going to win the individual. I answered yes, and I did it! I think that when things are meant to happen to someone, they will happen, no matter the place. Even though the competition was held in my city, I didn’t know the competition site and didn’t know anything about the wind conditions there until I shot the final. My victory was the fruit of hard work and a very blissful moment for me.

This has really been the year of Colombia, not only with your success in compound women, but also with the organisation of the first World Cup event in your hometown of Medellin. Has something changed in your country regarding archery?
Yes, there are many “firsts”, for Medellin and for Colombia. It is the result of the hard work accomplished in our country. And now we are two compound archers qualified for the World Cup Final, which is another historic moment for Colombia.

Is it the result of the support of Colombian sports authorities for archery?
Our support comes from two different sources: from the federation and private sponsors. I have only one sponsor, which is Indeportes Antioquia, which supports the club where I shoot. The federation is also supporting us. We hope and expect to find more sponsors because our sport is very beautiful and we have real potential. We have done so much without much support. Imagine what more we could achieve with more help? We are not asking for money, but for funding of our training expenses and travels to international competitions in order to face other top level archers and increase our experience.

Many sports are hot at the moment in Colombia: the Cali World Games gave those events a boost, along with the gold medal won by Orlando DUQUE at the Swimming World Championships, the second place obtained by Nairo QUINTANA in the Tour de France, and the success of the national football team that has already almost qualified for next year’s World Cup. What is happening with Colombian sport?
Patriotism is a strong part of Colombia, it’s very important for our country. Those successes are contagious; we strive to carry high the flag of our country, out of love for Colombia. That’s what we showed at the World Cup, and what every athlete tries to do at any sport’s World Championships. These is a lot of support for sports in general; however, for us compound archers it’s a little bit different because our sport is not Olympic. Overall there is a lot of popular enthusiasm for sport, because as I said Colombians are very patriotic, and people unite under our flag. You could see this at the Medellin World Cup and the Cali World Games.

Your results have determined that you and Sara LOPEZ will face off in the quarter-finals. How do you live this historical moment?
We would have loved to follow different paths and shoot against each other later on, but we will face each other in the first round. After so many years of shooting together, we know each other quite well. I know she will shoot strongly. We respect each other and we are hoping for a very exciting match! Whoever wins our quarter-final, the one who loses will be very proud of her and will support her. As an athlete, obviously I hope to win.

Do you receive a lot of exposure in Colombia? There will be a Colombian shooting for a World Cup Final medal!
This has brought attention to archery, as did the organisation of the first World Cup event. Many people who had never been involved in our sport before have become interested!

Let’s go back to Paris… What are your goals for this World Cup Final?
I dream of reaching the final, and of doing my job well. Those are the two main goals. Paris is the biggest event, featuring the top archers in the world. To be in the Final among those great archers is already a reward for my hard work, and I want to maintain the level that I’ve shown in the previous events this season.

The World Championships will take place shortly after the World Cup Final. Many important events at the highest level in a short time frame. How do you prepare for something like this?
The two competitions are very different, and both are very important. That’s the moment to show what you can do and what you have been training for. We will try to shoot strong and steady. I have never competed in a World Championships before and I have never been to Belek. The context will be new, but our technique and fighting spirit will be the same. To be a contender for World Cup Final and World Championships medals is a dream come true and I am very happy!

Go to Alejandra USQUIANO's biography.

World Archery Communication