Gracia Sotomayor
“An athlete with charisma.” This is how the indoor announcer in Glasgow bid farewell to Gracia Sotomayor from the competition floor. After 26.43 points at her 2021 World Championships debut in Stuttgart and 32.76 points at the 2022 World Championships in Liège, she now increased her points to 40.4 in her third World Championships start.
Gracia is aware that she will never come anywhere near the World Cup medal places. As a lateral entrant and late starter in artistic cycling, she is thrilled about every new exercise she learns. The joy and charisma she conveys during her performances counts for more than difficulty points.
Gracia Sotomayor is proving to be a stroke of luck for indoor cycling. In recent years, she has translated the artistic cycling regulations and many coaching documents into Spanish. With the support of Indoor Cycling World Wide (ICWW), she has undertaken field activities in Peru, Uruguay and Colombia. As a thank you for her extraordinary commitment, ICWW awarded her the title “ICWW Ambassador of Artistic Cycling”.
The fact that her commitment is worthwhile was also shown in Glasgow on the international World Championships stage: Jorge Nazario Castro completed the Peruvian World Championships team in the men’s 1-man event, and Uruguay made its debut on the cycling surface in the women’s 1-man event. Of course, the busy ambassador Gracia Sotomayor used the World Championships stage not only for sports but also for networking and was in exchange with the cycling presidents of Peru, Brazil, Argentina as well as Latin America.
Nationally she competes for the VfH Worms, internationally she represents the colours of Peru. Gracia’s calendar is already full again for the autumn. Starts in Belgium and at the World Cup are planned as well as an ICWW development trip to Mexico. There, too, Gracia Sotomayor will network again and convince with her charming smile. Just a sportswoman with charisma.
Stefan Born
