VALENCIA ESCOTO Alma Jane

Mexico

Wrestling

Date of Birth: 18 Oct 1990

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Place of birth: ZAPOPAN

Birth Country:

Mexico

Place of residence : STATE COLLEGE, PA

Residence Country:

United States of America

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Wrestling	Women's Freestyle 57kg	11

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
Followed by	Makuhari Messe Hall A Mat B	Women's Freestyle 57kg 1/8 Final #180 MEX VALENCIA ESCOTO AJVALENCIA ESCOTO Alma Jane 2 ROC KOBLOVA VKOBLOVA Valeria 5 VPO1	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

World Championships

Rank	Event	Year	Location
7	Freestyle 53kg	2014	Tashkent, UZB
10	Freestyle 55kg	2011	Istanbul, TUR
12	Freestyle 53kg	2015	Las Vegas, NV, USA
24	Freestyle 55kg	2013	Budapest, HUN

Pan American Championships

Rank	Event	Year	Location
4	Freestyle 57kg	2021	Guatemala City, GUA

Hobbies:

Cooking, spending time with family. (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020)

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Medicine - Guadalajara Lamar University, Mexico

Family:

Husband Jaime Espinal, daughter Joy [2017]

Languages spoken:

Spanish

Club name:

Nittany Lion Wrestling Club [State College, PA, USA]

Sporting relatives:

Her husband Jaime Yusept Espinal competed in freestyle wrestling for Puerto Rico at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016, claiming silver in the 84kg category at the 2012 Games in London. Her brother Eduardo represented Mexico in wrestling at the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (SportsDeskOnline, 08 Feb 2021; excelsior.com.mx, 10 May 2020; 20minutos.com.mx, 29 Oct 2013)

Start:

She took up the sport at age 17 in Guadalajara, Mexico. (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020; superluchas.com, 18 Mar 2020)

Reason:

She was involved in a number of sports as a girl but later followed her brothers into wrestling. "I have two older brothers and it was life or death with them and their rough games. So I began practising wrestling and after that I entered competitions and liked it. I enjoy training. It's a lot of sacrifice but it is all worth it." (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020; milenio.com, 15 Mar 2020; diarioimagen.net, 03 Mar 2015)

Ambition:

To win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020)

Memorable:

Securing a quota spot for Mexico ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games. (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020)

Hero:

Mexican judoka Vanessa Zambotti, Mexican taekwondoka Maria Espinoza. (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020)

Philosophy:

"Give me the strength to stay on my feet and the will to get up if I stumble." (jugadaprefabricada.com, 31 Mar 2020)

General Interest

General
OLYMPIC QUEST
She took time away from the sport to focus on studying medicine after missing out on qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She began wrestling again in 2013 with the aim of competing at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but after missing out on an Olympic berth for a second time she got married, finished her studies, and gave birth to her first daughter in 2017. She returned to competition in 2019 and in early 2020 she secured a qualification spot for the 2020 Olympic Games. "For London I was very young. I was 22 years old and I didn't have enough technique to get to the Games, even though I fought with all my heart. For Rio, I feel like my mind failed me. It was a very difficult year, with many changes. What has changed now is my mentality. I am the one who has to solve things." (superluchas.com, 18 Mar 2020; milenio.com, 15 Mar 2020)

Milestones

She became the first Mexican female wrestler to claim a medal at the Pan American Games when she won silver in the 53kg category at the 2015 Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. (SportsDeskOnline, 08 Feb 2021; panamericanos.com.org.mx, 16 Jul 2015)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event
VPO1:: Victory by points - with point(s) scored by the opponent

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