Amado's Road to Tokyo 2021

Hailing from the village of Esperanza in the Cayo District, Belize, Amado Cruz has spent his entire life on the Belize River. He learned to paddle a canoe when he was just a few years old and has been passionate about the sport ever since. He entered his first Ruta Maya at 14 years old and that further ignited his passion for canoeing and all paddling sports. In 2015, he made the switch to kayaking at the Puerto Rico Olympic Cup. He again proudly flew the Belize flag and competed in several international kayaking races at the Pan American Championships in 2018, which qualified him for the Pan American Games in 2019. He also competed in the 2019 World Championships in Hungary. Based on his entrance and performance in those races, Amado was selected as one of the two tripartite quotas available to canoe sprint athletes for Tokyo. Amado will make history in Tokyo by becoming Belize’s first ever canoe athlete at an Olympic games.
 
The road to the Olympics are long and arduous for all athletes. For Belizean athletes, there is the additional financial pressure due to the absence of sponsorships that athletes from other countries have access to. In addition, since the sport is new to Belize, Amado has faced the additional strains of not having a coach or the right size boat for his height. Couple that with a global pandemic and the inability to host normal fundraising events and the financial strain is especially felt.
 
Amado needs your help to make his Olympic dream a reality. He needs your help to put Belize’s name on the map in Canoeing.
 
This fundraiser will help pay for training, travel and other miscellaneous expenses. No donation is too small.
 
Thank you for your help and please follow along on Amado’s journey to Tokyo.