Starting a New Path Aimed at Los Angeles 2028: Karla Navas and her Challenges

2026-03-08 - 21:07

Panamanian gymnast Karla Navas is going through a phase in her athletic career. After several years of constant competition at the highest level and under great pressure, the athlete has decided to take a break to recover physically and mentally. She is rising up to face the new Olympic cycle with renewed energy, whose objective will be to qualify for Los Angeles 2028. “We started the year with a bit of rest. I’ve been inactive in the gym for about two months, since last year and after the Olympic cycle I’ve had some very intense years, with very important competitions for our scores,” Navas said in an interview. “This year I don’t have any fixed competitions that I can tell you about, but I know that the most important thing right now would be to return and get back to 100% of my performance and be able to compete and obviously bring results for my country.” Karla Navas with Abigail Martin (center) and Karina Schoenmaier (left) For nearly six years, the talented Panamanian athlete maintained a constant competitive pace, with little time to rest. This time away from the gym has allowed her to reconnect with her personal life and recover from injuries. “It was like six years at most without stopping; at most I think I stopped for two weeks, which was vacation, which was the end of the year, but this was the first time I took two months off,” Navas said. “It’s been two months of quality time with my family. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent so much time with them. I’ve also had time to heal my mental and physical health. My body needed it, my mind needed it, and well, I’m already mentally preparing for what’s to come,” she added. A Cycle Marked by Resilience The last few years of her career have been filled with challenges, successes, medals, injuries, and high-level competition. However, Navas believes that this journey has strengthened her character and her commitment to the sport. “These have been intense years since 2021. During those four years, I’ve also had several injuries, but I’ve learned to pick myself up and keep going. Thank God there was a team from the Panamanian Olympic Committee and with the help of Pandeportes (the Panamanian Sports Institute) I’ve been able to have one of the fastest recoveries to be at 100%,” said Navas, who experienced one of the most important moments of her career by winning the gold medal at the Doha Gymnastics World Cup, a result she considers a landmark in her sporting career. “The World Cups helped me a lot in terms of learning, in terms of standing tall and competing. I achieved one of the strongest medals, a World Cup gold medal in Doha. It still fills me with great satisfaction,” she added. Panama Gymnastics Organization Beyond her personal achievements, the gymnast highlights the growth of the Panamanian team and the emerging talent seeking to make its way onto the international stage and achieve participation as a team in the Olympic Games. “Panama has a very good team, a very well-prepared team. They have girls who are ready for anything, so I really feel that they are getting closer and closer to arriving at the Olympic Games with a complete team,” said Navas, who highlighted her coaches Carlos Gil Hernández and Yareimi Vázquez. The Balance Between Sport and Study In addition to his sports career, Navas is also building his academic future, as he is studying physiotherapy. “Thank God I got an athletic scholarship to the Latin University of Panama, which made it possible for me to study there. I’m studying physiotherapy. Thank God the schedule has worked out very well with my training... and thanks to that, I can fulfill two of my biggest dreams, which are to reach the Olympic Games and to graduate as a physiotherapist,” she concluded.