Gwangju (South Korea), July 8 (IANS) Playing tennis is simple and easy for Giuliana Olmos, representing a country is not.
Olmos’ father is from Mexico and she was born in her mother’s home country Austria, reports Xinhua.
“At the age of two, my parents moved to the United States where I grew up in California. Because of my parents’ nationality and their move to the United States, I have citizenship in all three countries,” said Olmos, who is playing tennis on behalf of Mexicao at the Gwangju Universiade.
Although she represents Mexico at the Universiade, she is a senior at the University of Southern California (USC) majoring in international relations and minoring in occupational therapy.
“I competed internationally for the United States until I was 16. At that time I was ranked No.2 in the United States when Mexico approached me and offered me a spot on the national team.”
She accepted the spot and continued to gain momentum by playing in Mexico, eventually taking the gold at a junior tournament.
“That gave me more attention by Mexico when they decided to sponsor me and help pay for some of my expenses. Tennis is an expensive sport, so it gave me an opportunity to travel which exposed to me to a new level of the sport.”
Gwangju marks the second Universiade for Olmos, previously competing in Kazan, Russia.
“I love being able to play for Mexico because I get along really well with the girls. It’s been amazing learning opportunity getting to travel the world and experience different cultures,” said Olmos.
Olmos will continue to play in professional tournaments up until her season with USC ends. After graduation she will pursue her love of tennis with aspirations to go pro and become a sponsored athlete.