Amalia Pérez Vázquez (born 10 July 1973) is a Mexican

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

in the - bracket. She has four times been a Paralympic champion and is the only powerlifter in the world to have Paralympic champion in three divisions. Pérez has been a member of the Mexican delegation to the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

since 2000. It was her participation of

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

that won Pérez her first

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the powerlifting event, and she would again win a silver medal in the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, but this time in the event. At the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, Pérez won her first

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the 52kg event and surpass the Pan-American record with a lifted weight of . She would do this again four years later at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

, this time with a lifted weight of . In 2016, she won the gold medal in the women's 55 kg event at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She also won the gold medal in the women's 61 kg event at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

held in Tokyo, Japan. At the continental level, Pérez won a gold medal

2007 Parapan American Games The 2007 Parapan American Games, officially the III Parapan American Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Parapan American Games as governed by the Americas Paraly ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in the 52kg event and broke the world Paralympic powerlifting record with on 14 August 2007. At the

2011 Parapan American Games The 4th Parapan American Games took place from November 12 to 20 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes with a physical disability. The Games were held 20 days after the 2011 Pan American Games beg ...

held in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, she received the gold medal in the women's 44kg - 60kg event. In 2008, Pérez received the National Mexican Sports Award. In 2021, she won the gold medal in her event at the 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships held in Tbilisi, Georgia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Amalia Living people 1977 births Female powerlifters Paralympic powerlifters of Mexico Paralympic gold medalists for Mexico Paralympic silver medalists for Mexico Powerlifters at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Powerlifters at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Powerlifters at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Powerlifters at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Powerlifters at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Powerlifters at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in powerlifting Medalists at the 2007 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Sportspeople from Mexico City 20th-century Mexican women 21st-century Mexican women