Carmen Anita Chalá Quilumba (born June 7, 1976) is a

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and former field athlete from

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Early life, family and education

Carmen was born in the Ecuadoran province

Carchi Carchi () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in Ecuador. The capital is Tulcán. The Carchi River rises on the slopes of Chiles (volcano), Chiles volcano and forms the boundary between Colombia and Ecuador near Tulcan. Rumichaca Bridge is the m ...

but at heart she is from Manabí. Her family has many athletes in it: older sister Eva, and younger sisters Diana and Vanessa have all been national judo team members.

Athletic career

Carmen Chalá was a national champion in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. However, by 1995, realizing that there are not many chances to be a successful field athlete at an international level, she began learning and practicing judo. She was 29 years old, considered very late to begin an endeavor like that. Her older sister Eva Chalá inspired her to try judo as she was already involved in it herself; Eva later became a referee for the sport as well. After only a month of judo training, Carmen became a national heavyweight champion. In the final, she defeated Olympian María Cangá, whom Carmen considered the nation's top female judo athlete. Although her success has been primarily within South American contests, Chalá participated at three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

but won only one match, defeating Sandra Köppen of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

at the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. In 2009, she wanted to join in politics but later delayed her candidature. She decided to continue as an athlete, aspiring to participate in the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, but she did not.

Achievements

References

External links

Carmen Chalá
on

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chala, Carmen 1976 births Living people Ecuadorian female judoka Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 Pan American Games Judoka at the 1999 Pan American Games Judoka at the 2003 Pan American Games Judoka at the 2007 Pan American Games Olympic judoka for Ecuador Pan American Games silver medalists for Ecuador Pan American Games bronze medalists for Ecuador South American Games gold medalists for Ecuador South American Games silver medalists for Ecuador South American Games bronze medalists for Ecuador South American Games medalists in athletics South American Games medalists in judo Competitors at the 1990 South American Games Competitors at the 2002 South American Games Competitors at the 2006 South American Games Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Ecuadorian female athletes 20th-century Ecuadorian women 21st-century Ecuadorian sportswomen Bolivarian Games silver medalists for Ecuador Bolivarian Games bronze medalists for Ecuador Bolivarian Games medalists in judo Pan American Games silver medalists in judo Pan American Games bronze medalists in judo