Valeria Dudamel will compete in the Wushu final of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Published at: 02/11/2026 06:10 PM

Firmer and more serene in the fluidity of all her demanding routine in the second part of the Changquan combined Wushu competition, the Venezuelan Valeria Dudamel far surpassed her first performance in Gunshu and finished third in the final round of this Tuesday's final round in the acrobatic and beautifully subtle martial art that debuts at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

On her way out the first day when she had to demonstrate her skill in handling the cane, complying with the routine of defensive and attacking movements, flying and turning, to throw slash blows, side blocks and containment with the stick, Dudamel was awarded 8,683 points by the rigor of the judges, which placed her provisionally in fourth place.

Dudamel corrected the minor flaws with which the jury punished her by subtracting 0.30 points from her Gunshu course and this time she showed the splendid power and stability in her routine.

Ease and strength

He applied the traditional rising palm, the complicated Gou Shu with his fingers pointing down and his various nandú with flying kicks, whirlwinds and sweeps exhibiting a ease and strength that was only surpassed by two rivals.

“My movements were much better, I felt more fluid with the turns and now we're going to give everything in the final. Among the movements I made was the sweep to roll on the floor and finish in a pose, the balance board and the nandú,” summarized the runner-up of the Pan-American Championship in Argentina and the greatest exponent of Wushu in our country.

Sword jump

The Larense finished in the third rung of Changquan combined where she received enormous applause for her jump to fall into the cloth making a sword, which earned her 6.65 in the exhibition and 2,243 in the presentation to add 8,893 and obtain third place in this second test, below the Egyptian Sondos Sonbol (9,233) and the Indian Lanchenbi Rajkumari (9,106).

“At the beginning I had a bit of trouble mastering that nandú and with practice and a lot of effort I'm doing it better and better. In the final they are the same routines, but with the best eight to decide the medals,” added the criolla.

Grand Final

In the sum of both Gunshun (8,863) and Changquan (8,893) tests, Dudamel accumulated 17,576 units that placed her in third place overall, once again escorting Sonbol (18,386) and Rajkumari (17,982) with whom it will be the toughest battle to fight for the gold one.

This Tuesday he returns to the same stage as the Dakar Expo to compete first thing in the morning with the defense and attack baton and in the afternoon he will do his hands-free movements to seek an unprecedented medal for the country in this ancient discipline.

Mazo News Team