Milena Morales, an athlete from the INDES Effort & Glory Program, sharpens her aim to compete in the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023, the first ones of her Olympic Cycle. She is also the first Salvadoran pistol athlete who, at this time, has qualified to the Pan American Games Santiago 2023.
These are two high-level competitions for this year, in which she will be competing with high optimism and motivation.
“Truth be told, I have great expectations because of the work that is being done. I already organized my university schedule, homework and all that. I have been able to get a lot of practice in my career, and I do not feel like a novice anymore”, the 21-year-old athlete commented.
She has been a pistol athlete for three years, and she alternates sports with her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador.
Milena, who is Melissa Mikec’s sister – the Salvadoran athlete that switched from rifle to pistol and could end up being her teammate for the San Salvador 2023 Games, said “For my first games, I see the possibility of getting into the finals because I already started reaching the established score for the women’s category, which is between 560 and 565. Actually, I reached that score by the end of last year.”
The shooter considers that competing as a host in the San Salvador 2023 Games is important and special.
“Being locals, we will have everybody’s support, starting with my family and friends, my coach and the whole country. My expectations are big, and there will be competitions out of the country that will help me to get ready”, she expressed.
In the San Salvador 2023 Games, the athlete will be competing in the 10 m air pistol women single, mixed and teams, and in the 25 m sport pistol women singles.
Milena represented the country in the Pan American Youth Games Cali 2021, and earned her first classification for a major continental competition in November 2022.