Saturday, November 18th, 2023.- The Chilean Para-table tennis player, Florencia Pérez, secured another gold medal for her country in this seventh edition of the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.

The local athlete defeated the Brazilian representative Sophia Kelmer 3-1 in the female's Class 8 final (12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9) in a match played at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico located in the Ñuñoa commune.

At just 14 years old, born on August 14, 2009, in Chillán, a city located 400 kilometers south of Santiago, Pérez is the youngest member of Team Para Chile.

Her right spastic hemiparesis, a type of cerebral palsy that affects her right arm and leg in terms of strength and muscle tone, was treated at the Teletón Foundation's child rehabilitation center in the city of San Pedro de la Paz, near Concepción, 500 kilometers south of the Chilean capital.

It was at this medical-kinetic center where she was guided on the sports activity that could benefit her disability management, leading her to switch from basketball to Para table tennis.

Pérez is the current national junior and adult champion in Class 8 in her country. Her goal is to become a Paralympic champion and the world's number one.

Written by Erwin Acevedo; translated by Pía Barriga / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Pepe Alvujar / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport