The accomplished Costa Rican para-athlete and multi-time world champion in adaptive CrossFit, Amalia Ortuño Lizano, has made headlines by clinching a silver medal and setting a national record in the shot put event at the Rabat 2026 Grand Prix of Para Athletics, currently taking place in Morocco's capital city. Competing in the F56 category, which includes athletes with progressive disabilities or complete absence of lower limbs, Ortuño delivered an impressive throw of 6.74 meters. This achievement not only secured her a spot on the podium but also surpassed her own previous national record of 6.59 meters set just a few months earlier during the National and Paranational Games in Limón 2026.
Reflecting on her performance after the first of her three events in North Africa—she is also scheduled to compete in the javelin and discus—Ortuño expressed her joy and surprise at the outcome, particularly given her recent struggles with an injury to her right hand's middle finger, which had cast doubt on her participation. "I am extremely happy because I just competed in shot put, and I am thrilled with the result. I improved my personal best, set a new national record, and finished second in the competition, despite dislocating my finger last week and thinking for a moment that I wouldn't be able to compete. This is just the beginning of the Paralympic cycle, with many projects ahead, including our goal of reaching the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. Our next major target is the Central American and Caribbean Para Games in Guanajuato, Mexico, in 2026, and the World Championships next year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. We are working hard toward achieving these goals, and we are very close to making them a reality," she stated in comments gathered by the National Paralympic Committee of Costa Rica.
Only Czech athlete Miroslava Adamkova surpassed Ortuño's throw, achieving a best mark of exactly 7 meters. Completing the podium was Kyrgyz athlete Adina Samyibek, who recorded a maximum distance of 5.47 meters.
Ortuño is expected to compete in the javelin throw tomorrow at 2:30 AM Costa Rican time, followed by the discus throw event on Saturday at 10:40 AM Costa Rican time.
As reported by semanariouniversidad.com.
