Maycey Vieta: meet the first Puerto Rican who will compete in diving at the Pan American Games

Editor’s note: Press here to visit our special site with all the coverage of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

Santiago, Chile- Diver Maycey Vieta will be one of the first Puerto Ricans to see action in the Santiago 2023 Pan American Gameswhen this Friday he takes his credentials in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as the university in the NCAA, to the continental level.

Vieta is the daughter of a Puerto Rican and competes this Friday in the 10-meter platform event, in which she has given pride to Puerto Rico and her alma mater, Purdue University, and her family.

“They are going to be attentive. “They were going to come, but they couldn’t because there were some changes in the itinerary,” said the athlete.

This Friday’s event is a qualifier for a final round, which would be held on Saturday. She needs to finish among the best 12 in the preliminary to advance to the final.

Vieta is the daughter of Puerto Rican Mark Vieta. Born in Ohio, Vieta is one of six siblings. She has been representing Puerto Rico since 2021, at that year’s World Championships.

“My five brothers are waiting. My parents are waiting. They love that Puerto Rico and the island are represented,” said the fourth of the siblings.

Vieta debuted this year in the Olympic cycle with two bronze medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023. There he took bronze in the individual and combined platform.

This year, at the NCAA level, Vieta was the platform champion in the competitive Big10 conference. He also placed third at the 2021 NCAA Championships.

Vieta has practiced in the jumping pool at the Games and said that the competitive level of his rivals is high and that the surface of the platform is somewhat slippery, which is the same for everyone.

He has worked on his six jumps, from the one he dominates the most to the one that sometimes makes him insecure. The jumps they master are their first and sixth. The fourth and fifth are the most complicated.

“I have to execute that fourth and fifth jump and go to the sixth jump, which is the one I enjoy the most. I know I can do it well,” he said. “I have been training well. I feel good physically. I just have to execute. It’s a matter of executing what we’ve been practicing, and taking it one leap at a time without thinking that I have to be in the top 12. That doesn’t help.”

Puerto Rico also has Emmanuel Vazquez and Elizabeth Miclau diving, who will see action starting Monday.