Oregon's Carmela Cardama Baez celebrates her victory in the Women's 10,000 meters during the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. Eug 061021 Ncaa Tf 09
Carmela Cardama Baez finished second in the race back in 2019 and with the pandemic last season affecting everything from sports to entertainment, it was a long road back, “I was not able to go home till November last year. For me at the beginning was really hard. The situation in Spain was not good while my parents were in a lockdown was tough. ”
Following the race, CardamaBaez talked about how her mental toughness and preparation during the pandemic played a part in her final race as a Duck, “It was hard…It was just a long time without competing…it has been a trial and error and just getting better every race and we were able to put it together for nationals and that worked out well.