Mauricio Ortega (discus thrower)

Mauricio Ortega
Personal information
Full name	Mauricio Alexander Ortega Girón
Born	August 4, 1994 (age 30); Apartadó, Antioquia, Colombia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	90 kg (200 lb)
Sport
Country	Colombia
Event	Discus throw
Medal record
South American Games
South American Championships
	Updated on 27 December 2014

Template:Spanish name Mauricio Alexander Ortega Girón (born 4 August 1994 in Apartadó, Antioquia)^[1] is a Colombian discus thrower. His personal best of 59.95 m (196 ft 8 in) for the event is the Colombian record. He also holds the South American junior record.

Career

He competed at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics and placed fourth.^[2]^[3] He topped the podium at the 2011 South American Junior Championships in Athletics with a national junior record mark of 58.48 m (191 ft 10+1⁄4 in) – he was the youngest entrant at the event.^[4] At the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics he improved his record to 59.84 m (196 ft 3+3⁄4 in) in qualifying,^[5] but performed less well in the final and finished ninth.^[6] He began to throw with the senior-weight discus that year and was the winner of the 2012 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics.^[7] He won at the National Games of Colombia with a personal best of 55.00 m (180 ft 5+1⁄4 in).^[8]

Ortega established himself at the senior level in 2013. He won his first Colombian senior title in June and took the bronze medal at the 2013 South American Championships in Athletics with a personal best of 57.76 m (189 ft 6 in). The 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships was hosted in Medellín and he came second to Hayden Reed with a junior personal best of 61.77 m (202 ft 7+3⁄4 in).^[8] He improved further to a South American junior record and championship record of 62.78 m (205 ft 11+1⁄2 in) to win gold at the 2013 South American Junior Championships in Athletics, which was also in Colombia.^[9] A Colombian senior record came at the 2013 Bolivarian Games, where his throw of 59.67 m (195 ft 9 in) brought him the gold medal in a games record.^[10]

He improved the national record to 59.95 m (196 ft 8 in) at the 2014 South American Games, breaking the games record to take the gold medal.^[11]

Event	Result	Venue	Date
Discus throw	62.30 m A	Medellín	28 Jun 2014

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Colombia
2011	World Youth Championships	Villeneuve d'Ascq, France	4th	Discus throw (1.5 kg)	60.28 m
2011	South American Junior Championships	Medellín, Colombia	1st	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	58.48 m A
2012	World Junior Championships	Barcelona, Spain	9th	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	57.50 m
2012	South American Under-23 Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	1st	Discus throw	53.94 m
2013	South American Championships	Cartagena, Colombia	3rd	Discus throw	57.76 m
	Pan American Junior Championships	Medellín, Colombia	2nd	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	61.77 m A
	South American Junior Championships	Resistencia, Argentina	1st	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	62.78 m
	Bolivarian Games	Trujillo, Perú	1st	Discus throw	59.67 m
2014	South American Games	Santiago, Chile	1st	Discus throw	59.95 m
	Ibero-American Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	4th	Discus throw	59.10 m
	South American Under-23 Championships	Montevideo, Uruguay	1st	Discus throw	60.46 m
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Xalapa, México	2nd	Discus throw	60.69 m A
2015	South American Championships	Lima, Peru	1st	Discus throw	61.36 m
	Pan American Games	Toronto, Canada	7th	Discus throw	61.33 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	11th	Discus throw	62.01 m
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	18th (q)	Discus throw	61.62 m

^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2013-12-02). Rodriguez and Garcia help Colombia shine at Bolivarian Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ World Youth Championships 2011. World Junior Athletics History (2013-01-19). Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ Arcoleo, Laura (2011-07-06). Boys' Discus Throw Final – Dacres, Jamaica's first. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ South American Junior Championships 2011. WJAH (2012-12-01). Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ Martin, David (2012-07-10). Craft produces major shock with Kenya and Ethiopia also winning gold – Barcelona 2012 – Day One Evening Report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ World Junior Championships 2012. WJAH (2013-01-19). Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2012-09-24). Brazil dominates South American Under-23 Champs. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ ^a ^b Mauricio Ortega. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2013-10-21). Tenorio shines at South American Junior Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2013-12-02). Rodriguez and Garcia help Colombia shine at Bolivarian Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2014-03-17). Davide and Duco delight big crowd on final day of ODESUR Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.