Mauricio Ortega (discus thrower)

Mauricio Alexander Ortega Girón (born 4 August 1994 in Apartadó, Antioquia)^[1] is a Colombian discus thrower. His personal best of 70.29 m for the event is the National record. He also holds the South American record.

Mauricio Ortega

Personal information
Full name	Mauricio Alexander Ortega Girón
Born	(1994-08-04) August 4, 1994 (age 31) Apartadó, Antioquia, Colombia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	90 kg (198 lb)
Sport
Country	Colombia
Sport	Athletics
Event	Discus throw
Achievements and titles
Personal best	Discus throw: 70.29 m AR (2020)
Medal record Representing  Colombia Men's athletics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Pan American Games 0 1 0 Ibero-American Championships 1 0 0 CAC Games 1 2 0 South American Games 2 1 0 South American Championships 3 0 3 Bolivarian Games 1 0 0 Pan American U20 Championships 0 1 0 South American U23 Championships 3 0 0 South American U20 Championships 2 0 0 Total 13 5 3 Pan American Games 2023 Santiago Discus throw Ibero-American Championships 2018 Trujillo Discus throw Central American and Caribbean Games 2018 Barranquilla Discus throw 2014 Veracruz Discus throw 2023 San Salvador Discus throw South American Games 2014 Santiago Discus throw 2018 Cochabamba Discus throw 2022 Asunción Discus throw South American Championships 2015 Lima Discus throw 2017 Asunción Discus throw 2019 Lima Discus throw 2013 Cartagena Discus throw 2023 São Paulo Discus throw 2025 Mar del Plata Discus throw Bolivarian Games 2013 Trujillo Discus throw Pan American U20 Championships 2013 Medellín Discus throw South American U23 Championships 2012 São Paulo Discus throw 2014 Montevideo Discus throw 2016 Lima Discus throw South American U20 Championships 2011 Medellín Discus throw 2013 Resistencia Discus throw
Updated on 8 September 2025

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ortega and the second or maternal family name is Girón.

He was the gold medallist at the 2014 South American Games and a bronze medallist at the 2013 South American Championships in Athletics. He was a two-time champion at the South American U20 Championships.

Career

He competed at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics and placed fourth.^[2][3] He topped the podium at the 2011 South American Junior Championships in Athletics with a national junior record mark of 58.48 m (191 ft 10+1⁄4 in) – he was the youngest entrant at the event.^[4] At the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics he improved his record to 59.84 m (196 ft 3+3⁄4 in) in qualifying,^[5] but performed less well in the final and finished ninth.^[6] He began to throw with the senior-weight discus that year and was the winner of the 2012 South American Under-23 Championships in Athletics.^[7] He won at the National Games of Colombia with a personal best of 55.00 m (180 ft 5+1⁄4 in).^[8]

Ortega established himself at the senior level in 2013. He won his first Colombian senior title in June and took the bronze medal at the 2013 South American Championships in Athletics with a personal best of 57.76 m (189 ft 6 in). The 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships was hosted in Medellín and he came second to Hayden Reed with a junior personal best of 61.77 m (202 ft 7+3⁄4 in).^[8] He improved further to a South American U20 record and championship record of 62.78 m (205 ft 11+1⁄2 in) to win gold at the 2013 South American Junior Championships in Athletics, which was also in Colombia.^[9] A Colombian senior record came at the 2013 Bolivarian Games, where his throw of 59.67 m (195 ft 9 in) brought him the gold medal in a games record.^[1]

He improved the national record to 59.95 m (196 ft 8 in) at the 2014 South American Games, breaking the games record to take the gold medal.^[10]

Personal bests

Event	Result	Venue	Date
Discus throw	70.29 m AR A	Lovelhe	22 July 2020

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Colombia
2011	World U18 Championships	Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France	4th	Discus throw (1.5 kg)	60.28 m
	South American U20 Championships	Medellín, Colombia	1st	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	58.48 m A
2012	World U20 Championships	Barcelona, Spain	9th	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	57.50 m
	South American U23 Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	1st	Discus throw	53.94 m
2013	South American Championships	Cartagena, Colombia	3rd	Discus throw	57.76 m NU20R
	Pan American U20 Championships	Medellín, Colombia	2nd	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	61.77 m A
	South American U20 Championships	Resistencia, Argentina	1st	Discus throw (1.75 kg)	62.78 m CR
	Bolivarian Games	Trujillo, Peru	1st	Discus throw	59.67 m GR, AU20R, NR
2014	South American Games	Santiago, Chile	1st	Discus throw	59.95 m GR, NR
	Ibero-American Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	4th	Discus throw	59.10 m
	South American U23 Championships	Montevideo, Uruguay	1st	Discus throw	60.46 m CR
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Xalapa, Mexico	2nd	Discus throw	60.69 m A
2015	South American Championships	Lima, Peru	1st	Discus throw	61.36 m
	Pan American Games	Toronto, Canada	7th	Discus throw	61.33 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	11th	Discus throw	62.01 m
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	18th (q)	Discus throw	61.62 m
	South American U23 Championships	Lima, Peru	1st	Discus throw	57.60 m
2017	South American Championships	Asunción, Paraguay	1st	Discus throw	63.82 m CR
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	16th (q)	Discus throw	62.97 m
2018	South American Games	Cochabamba, Bolivia	1st	Discus throw	62.10 m A GR
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Barranquilla, Colombia	1st	Discus throw	66.30 m NR
	Ibero-American Championships	Trujillo, Peru	1st	Discus throw	60.49 m
2019	South American Championships	Lima, Peru	1st	Discus throw	58.89 m
	Pan American Games	Lima, Peru	5th	Discus throw	61.15 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	20th (q)	Discus throw	61.92 m
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	7th	Discus throw	64.08 m
	Memorial Van Damme	Brussels, Belgium	8th	Discus throw	62.76 m
2022	World Championships	Eugene, Oregon, United States	26th (q)	Discus throw	59.91 m
	South American Games	Asunción, Paraguay	2nd	Discus throw	63.59 m
2023	Central American and Caribbean Games	San Salvador, El Salvador	2nd	Discus throw	61.67 m
	South American Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	3rd	Discus throw	60.15 m
	Pan American Games	Santiago, Chile	2nd	Discus throw	61.86 m
2024	Ibero-American Championships	Cuiabá, Brazil	4th	Discus throw	61.34 m
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	18th (q)	Discus throw	61.97 m
2025	South American Championships	Mar del Plata, Argentina	3rd	Discus throw	61.91 m
	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	27th (q)	Discus throw	60.57 m