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26-year-old Jajaira Gonzalez achieved an impeccable milestone by becoming the first USA boxer to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024. On October 25, the female boxer competed in the quarter-finals at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, which helped her achieve this feat.
On Sunday, the 2023 Pan American Games hosted several world-class boxers to determine 30 qualifiers for the upcoming Olympics. Among the boxers who secured a spot for next year’s big stage event, USA’s first qualifying boxer, Jajaira Gonzalez, made a stunning comeback after facing downs in her career.
During the Women’s 60kg quarter-finals, Jajaira Gonzalez defeated Uruguay’s Camila Paola Pineiro Muino by 5 - 0 to qualify for the semi-finals scheduled on October 26 and also for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Evidently, Jajaira Gonzalez is making a strong comeback at the sports, considering her journey so far. At the beginning of her international career, the American boxer won junior-level world titles in 2013, 2014, and 2015. She was also in the running to enter the 2016 Olympics but lost in the trials to Mikaela Mayer.
In 2018, Gonzalez experienced mental health issues due to weight gain that threw her into depression. However, after a considerable break, she began to work on herself in 2021 with the help of therapy.
Finally, in 2023, she began the season by competing to win a spot in the national team but eventually lost in the 57kg division. However, Gonzalez was lucky to achieve a place in the team after Rashida Ellis was replaced due to disciplinary reasons.
Indeed, Jajaira Gonzalez made the most of her second chance and would aim to dominate the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Jajaira Gonzalez shared how her mental health struggles intensified
In a recent interview with USA Boxing, Jajaira Gonzalez shared that after a certain point in her career, she became overconfident. The 26-year-old would receive massive praise from people around her as upon winning championships regularly. Overconfidence led to Gonzalez training for just two weeks instead of two months before the 2018 national championships.
The boxer experienced utter shock when she lost at the tournament. She lost her opportunity to be in the national team. In the interview, she told:
“I just really felt like the world was against me at the time. I wasn’t talking with some members of my family.”
Gonzalez realized that a break was inevitable to calm her mental state. Initially, she planned to take a year’s break but she had to stretch it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that four-year break, the boxer was not training for competitive boxing and eventually gained 35 pounds. As a result, she suffered from depression for a long time.
