Neisi Dajomes. Credit: Ecuadorian Olympic Committee.

Quito, Ecuador, Aug 2, 2021 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

The Ecuadorian bishops congratulated on Twitter Neisi Dajomes, the country’s first woman to win gold in the Olympics, for her victory: “Thank you for infecting us with your enthusiasm and joy! God bless you!”

Dajomes, 23, won the gold medal in weightlifting in the 76 kg category (the lifter’s body weight)) at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Aug. 1.  The athlete said, “this medal is thanks to God.”

The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021, but retain the original year to avoid confusion as the games are held every four years.

Dajomes is the third Ecuadorian athlete to win a gold medal for Ecuador, following Richard Carapaz in cycling in Tokyo in July this year; and Jefferson Pérez in race walking in Atlanta in 1996.

The Ecuadorian Olympic Committee relayed on Twitter these words from Dajomes: “I went through a hard time, I lost my mother and recently my brother Javier Palacios, for whom I am here, and all my achievements are dedicated to their memory.”

“I thank my country for the good vibes they sent me … This medal is thanks to God,” she added.

Dajomes told the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio that losing her mother and brother “have been trials God put me through to get here.”