The 33-year-old cyclist once again showed her class with second place in the scratch race at the Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships held at the Peñalolén velodrome in Chile, behind Trinidad and Tobago’s Teniel Campbell, who gained a lap advantage.

It seems as if age passes Marlies Mejías’s legs by. The 33-year-old cyclist once again showed her class with second place in the scratch race at the Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships held at the Peñalolén velodrome in Chile, behind Trinidad and Tobago’s Teniel Campbell, who gained a lap advantage.

Following this performance, added to the points obtained from her victory in the Omnium at a competition in the Canadian town of Bromont, Quebec, the Cuban has secured her presence in middle-distance events for the World Cups scheduled in 2026.

That objective is important, but it only begins the path towards the greater aspiration, as these meets with exponents from around the world allow points to be accumulated towards a new Olympic qualification. At the summer Games of London 2012 and Rio 2016, Marlies finished among the top eight in the Omnium, highly meritorious positions.

In this multi-discipline event, consisting of four different races, she will compete this Friday, according to the schedule shared with Granma by national commissioner Pablo Arturo Campins.

Beyond the dictates of the calendar, this woman never stops overcoming adversity. She entered the fray after arriving at the venue in the early hours of the opening day itself.

No obstacle slows her dreams and she remains determined to represent her homeland on the main stages, such as the ever-closer Central American and Caribbean Games, to be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

She demonstrated this, even, last year when, despite having no possibility of participating in the Youth Pan American Games due to age, she secured a track spot for the Island’s delegation.