Rosario Iglesias

Senior Runner Rosario Iglesias

When someone thinks of a hero they usually think of someone that wears a mask, a cape or has superpowers, but I think a hero is someone who pushes you to be the best you can be, or to do what you want to do without caring about who you are, what you do, or how old you are. My hero is Rosario Iglesias, better known as Chayito, who was 80 when she started to run and win medals. She started selling newspapers when she was young and she was the supporter of her family for years. She died on the last day of January of this year, but she teaches us that it is never too late to make your dreams come true.

I admire Chayito a lot because she always did her best, no matter how she felt that day. Also, she always gave the best of herself in each race and she achieved winning 3 medals: one gold, one silver, and one bronze in the World Master Championship at Miyasaki, Japan. She competed in places she would never had thought of, like US, Sudan in Africa, UK, Australia, Canada, Barbados, Puerto Rico, and Spain. She broke 20 world records in running.

She also showed that Mexican women are able to make Mexico proud of them, but maybe in an anonymous way, and that we must be proud in our hearts of being Mexicans. I hope that her effort and determination help as an example to teenagers, because we are always complaining about every obstacle that we face and she proves that we don’t need money, or material objects to be successful or categorized as successful. She shows us that we just need the determination and desire of living life to the fullest to take the first step and start a new life.