Soraya Jiménez : Google Doodle Celebrates Soraya Jiménez’s 44th Birthday

Soraya Jimenez ( Naucalpan , State of Mexico , 5 of August of 1977 – City of Mexico , 28 of March of 2013 ) was an halterofilista Mexican. She managed to win a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games , which made her the first Mexican athlete to achieve one of these at the Olympic Games.

After also trying his luck in other sports such as badminton and swimming , between the ages of 11 and 14, Jiménez discovered his taste for weightlifting so he began to fully integrate into this sport guided by his teachers who saw potential in it in his abilities to support heavy weights and began to enroll in various tournaments.

Soraya began to stand out more and more nationally in weightlifting and her first international title was achieved at the age of 16 when she obtained a third place in weightlifting at the NORCECA Cup in Colorado Springs, United States in the 54 kg category, where she achieved lift 120 total kilograms.

In 1996 he achieved his first triumph in a competition, winning gold at the Simón Bolívar International Tournament in Carúpano, Venezuela, where he lifted a total of 170 kilos, setting a Mexican record for the first time.

Google Doodle Celebrates Soraya Jiménez’s 44th Birthday

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Mexico-based guest artist Carolina Martínez, celebrates the 44th birthday of Mexican Olympic-champion weightlifter Soraya Jiménez, the first Mexican woman to ever win an Olympic gold.

Soraya Jiménez Mendivil was born on this day in 1977 in Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico. As a child, she swam competitively and played basketball and badminton but ultimately found her true athletic calling in weightlifting. She secured her first podium win at just 17 years old, placing third at the 1994 NORCECA Cup in Colorado Springs.

In 1996, Jiménez earned her first major championship win at the Simón Bolívar International in Venezuela, where her performance proved her to be a serious contender on the international circuit. The years that followed were decorated with titles from across the Americas, which included a weight-class win in the Central American and Caribbean Games as well as a silver at the Pan American Games. A combination of 1999 championship wins at the NORCECA Cup, the Greek Tofalos International, and the Bulgarian National Championships established Jiménez as a favored front-runner heading into the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Jiménez’s athletic career reached its apex when she lifted a staggering total of 497 pounds, taking home the gold in the 58 kg (128 lbs) class weightlifting event at the 2000 Summer Games. Although she retired in 2004, Jiménez continued to share her passion for sports as a broadcaster for Televisa, the world’s largest Spanish-language media company.

Happy birthday, Soraya Jiménez—thanks for using your strength to make history!