This might suggest there’s nothing unusual about one apprentice filling a master’s shoes. After all, national trials, injuries and life changes mean archers come and go.
But the last two years have felt different for Valencia. She grew up alongside Roman and Avitia, having looked up to them since her international debut in 2010 – then just 15 years old – when she claimed her first team medal with them (silver at the Central American and Caribbean Games). Together, they travelled the world, shared hotel rooms, shot at her maiden Olympics and, ultimately, grew as friends and teammates.
Now, Valencia was Roman in Paris 2024: the experienced captain. She will lead once again in Gwangju, spearheading a team of Karime Montoya Alfaro, 17, and Valentina Vazquez, 22. And she is expected to do the same at LA28 – which could be her own Olympic swansong.
“She’s the strong one on the team, supporting and lending her experience to the other athletes,” Ramos added. “We have a separate plan. We have one plan for Alejandra because Alejandra is a big star in a different moment of her life.
“She’s an adult, she’s not an archer who can be all the time in the national training facility. We need something different for her.”
With Roman seven years older, the two were always at different stages of life. Now, eight years older than Vazquez and 13 years senior to Alfaro, Valencia, at 30, finds herself in the same position – only on the other side of the equation.
