Jose Angel Martinez and Hector Ruvalcaba Making History for Mexico
Jose Angel Martinez and Hector Ruvalcaba recently finished their debuts in the FINA World Cup with historic participation for Mexico. While Ruvalcaba finished fifth in the 400 individual medley at the Indianapolis meet, breaking his Mexican national record, Martinez finished fourth in the 200 butterfly in Toronto. Here is a look at these developing athletes for the Mexican National Team.
Hector Ruvalcaba
Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz graduated from The University of the Incarnate Word in 2020. One year after graduation, he joined the L.A. Current for the 2021 International Swimming League season. Ruvalcaba’s performances in the recent World Cup was something he was not expecting.
“I was confident that I could swim fast,” Ruvalcaba said. “But to be honest, I was not expecting to go best times in all my events and lower my national record in the 400 IM by more than three seconds.”
Ruvalcaba has Paris 2024 in his sights as his first Olympic Games.
“I was very close to qualifying for the (Tokyo) Olympics (.41 seconds off the A cut in the 200m butterfly),” he said. “So, becoming an Olympian in 2024 is still one of my biggest sports goals.”
Next year, Ruvalcaba’s swimming calendar will be packed with international meets. He will attend the International Team Trials for Mexico (April 2023), Central American and Caribbean Games (June 2023), the FINA World Championships (July 2023) and Pan American Games (October 2023).
Angel Martinez
A Tokyo Olympian, Jose Angel Martinez graduated from Texas A&M University in 2019. The Cali Condors drafted him for the 2021 and 2022 ISL seasons. Martinez found that being part of the Cali Condors gave him much more confidence to race next to the best swimmers in the world.
“Seeing the Condors get on the blocks and win race after race just made me feel like I could do that as well,” Martinez said.
Martinez was fourth in the 200 butterfly in Toronto with a time of 1:53.50. His effort made him the highest Mexican finisher in World Cup history. Nonetheless, Martinez said this performance was just preparation for the FINA World Championship in Melbourne, which begin this week.
Like Ruvalcaba, Martinez has the 2024 Olympic Games as a goal.
“The cuts for Paris 2024 are tough, but I will do everything in my power to get there,” Martinez said.
Both swimmers have provided a massive boost for the younger generation of swimmers in Mexico, demonstrating that anything is possible. They have kept swimming against all odds, since the Mexican federation has not provided support. Instead, they have had to find the support of various individuals to sponsor their careers.
Es una pena muy grande que la Federación Mexicana de Natación los tiene olvidados, no los apoya y cada logro que tienen, cada escalón que suben pareciera que les doliera verlos triunfar, gracias a sus familias y especialmente al Profesor Nelson Vargas, su ángel que los apoya y siempre está al pendiente de sus necesidades, es una gran bendición!! GRACIAS MIL!!
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