Winner of the 5000 meters in the University Games 2017

Alexander Tipán, a Yachay Tech student, was proclaimed champion of athletics in the first sports competitions of the University Games 2017. The event was organized by the Zonal Coordination 1 of the Ministry of Sports with the collaboration of Universidad Técnica del Norte (UTN), in the city of Ibarra. Alexander won the first place, among 36 participants, with a time of 15 minutes with 16 seconds.

This is not the first time that Alexander competes against several high-level athletes, as he has been training for this type of competitions since he was a child. He first started his training at Concentración Deportiva de Pichincha where he was persistent, and where he even represented the country in South American and Pan-American games, until he got into the university. Being at Yachay Tech has been a challenge for him from a sports perspective. Nevertheless, he organizes his time with a lot of effort. Alexander manages to train on campus and the University gym, and in the track of Urcuquí. He praises his trainer´s work, Washington Latta, who sends him online training plans from Quito. For Alexander, Latta is excellent at what he does and has helped him to stay at a good level.

Alexander feels very happy and motivated with this award because training was really tough and his competitors had a very good level. He says that it motivates him since it allows him to make himself known for the next international championships and to continue training. Sometimes it is necessary to find motivation because the academic obligations are plenty and time is short. In addition, it allows him to exalt the name of the University as an institution with various talents.

The student believes that it is necessary to complement academic activities with different activities, since studying, working, and other academic obligations allow for the accumulation of stress. For Alexander, sports and other activities help to release that stress and feel that desire to continue studying again. This, from the perspective of the coach of the Yachay Tech athletic club. Although the club faces the challenges of academic responsibilities and lack of time, it seeks to find a spot in the university sports competitions under the tutelage of Alexander; who this year also stepped on the podiums of the Ibarra 10k race and “Ruta de las Primicias” in Riobamba.