TIJUANA Ensenada native Daniel Corral, who won two gold medals in last year's Pan American Games, clinched passage Tuesday to the Olympics this summer in London.
Corral, 22, earned that spot by winning his division's All-Around competition in the Men's Artistic Gymnastics Olympic Qualification being held in England. It's been more than 20 years that Mexico has had a male competitor in this sport in the Olympics.
Corral won two gold medals in the Pan American Games, held in Guadalajara in October, in the pommel horse and the parallel bars.
"My trainer (Oscar Aguirre) and I are very happy because I will be the first Mexican to return to Men's Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympics in 20 years," he said in a bulletin.
Through his Twitter account, the director of Mexico's National Sports Commission, Bernardo de la Garza, congratulated Corral on qualifying for the Olympics, to be held July 27 to Aug. 12 in London.
"I'm very excited to know that I will be returning to London next summer," said Corral, who was to have a closed-door training session on Wednesday.
"Last year was a difficult one because of the injuries I had," he continued. "Truthfully, I thank God and all the people who have supported me and have made this possible."
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