TORRES Daniela

General
POSITIVE POSTPONEMENT
She believes that the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo improved her chances of competing at the Games, as she had switched her attention from the 5000m and 10,000m to marathon running in 2020. She went on to meet the qualifying standard for Tokyo in April 2021 in her first marathon with a time of 2:28:55 at the Xiamen Marathon and Tuscany Camp Global Elite Race in Siena, Italy. "I was not expecting to be at the Games and, actually, the pandemic was beneficial because the Games were postponed. That gave me the chance to be better prepared, as I had already discarded the hope of competing in Tokyo. I was even thinking about Paris in 2024. But the postponement gave me the chance to try the marathon. My focal point at first was to compete in half marathon and, after that, we realised we had a chance to do a good marathon and, fortunately, on my marathon debut I made the Olympic standard." (El Heraldo de Mexico YouTube channel, 02 May 2021; esto.com.mx, 20 Apr 2021)

MOTHER TRIBUTE
She plans to dedicate her participation at the Olympic Games in Tokyo to her mother, who passed away due to cancer in September 2020. "The last time I talked to her, the day before she died, she told me that she wanted to see me in the Olympic Games. The truth is my mother didn't know my level of performance, but mums always believe in us and they want the best for us. In Siena, when I achieved the qualifying standard, the first thing that came to my mind was that my mother was right, to blindly believe in me. It was very poignant and I cried, because I knew that she would always be by my side. She can't be there with me physically in Tokyo, but I will dedicate the moment to her. The strength I saw in her through the years is what also gives me strength. Now she is my role model, because there is no competition too hard or obstacle too big that I can't overcome. My mother suffered so much and went through so many difficult situations that nothing that happens to me can compare to it." (olympics.com, 26 May 2021; El Heraldo de Mexico YouTube channel, 02 May 2021)

CAREER SWITCH
Prior to becoming an elite athlete she had aspirations of working at the Olympic Games as a journalist. She had worked in sports communications until 2019 when she quit her job to focus on athletics. "Sport has always been attractive to me and I used to picture myself at the Olympics working as a journalist. I would never have thought I'd have the chance to take part in the Games as an athlete. Up until July 2019, I was working in communications, but I quit my job and everything else to chase this new dream of becoming a professional athlete. When I took the decision I thought it was a bad idea, but I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made." (olympics.com, 26 May 2021)