Lina Licona

Lina Licona

Personal information
Full name	Lina Esther Licona
Born	(1998-10-01) 1 October 1998 Montería, Colombia
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Events	100 metres 200 metres 400 metres 4×100 metres 4×400 metres Mixed relay
Coached by	Mauricio Hernández
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	100 metres: 11.50 (2023) 200 metres: 22.70 NR (2024) 400 metres: 50.83 (2024) 4×100 metres: 44.16 (2023) 4×400 metres: 3:31.16 (2023) Mixed relay: 3:14.48 AR (2024)
Medal record Representing Colombia Women's athletics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Ibero-American Championships 0 1 0 CAC Games 0 0 2 South American Games 1 0 1 South American Championships 3 1 0 South American U23 Championships 1 0 0 Total 5 2 3 Ibero-American Championships Silver medal – second place 2024 Cuiabá 4×400 m relay Central American and Caribbean Games Bronze medal – third place 2023 San Salvador 4×400 m relay Bronze medal – third place 2023 San Salvador Mixed relay South American Games Gold medal – first place 2022 Asunción 4×400 m relay Bronze medal – third place 2022 Asunción Mixed relay South American Championships Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima 4×400 m relay Gold medal – first place 2023 São Paulo 4×400 m relay Gold medal – first place 2023 São Paulo Mixed relay Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima 400 m South American U23 Championships Gold medal – first place 2018 Cuenca 4×400 m relay

Lina Esther Licona Torres (born 1 October 1998) is a Colombian sprinter. In 2024, she became national champion in the 400 metres.

Early and personal life

From Boca de La Ceiba, near Montería in the Córdoba Department. Licona moved to Bogotá with her family in 2004. She attended high school at the Instituto Tecnisistemas. She was a speed skater prior to focusing on athletics when she was 16 years-old. She has a son, Eliam, born February 15, 2017. She suffered an injury to her Achilles tendon in 2020 that left her close to retirement.

Career

She won a silver medal in the individual 400 metres at the 2019 South American Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru. She won a gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the championships. She won gold in the womwn's 4x400m relay and bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay at the 2022 South American Games in Asunción, Paraguay. She won double gold at the 2023 South American Athletics Championships in São Paulo, in the women’s 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay, in a South American record time. She ran as part of the Colombian mixed 4x400m relay team at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau. She won the International Grand Prix 400m race in Cuiabá, Brazil in May 2024, running a season best time of 52.28 seconds. On June 20, 2024 Licona secured automatic qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by winning the 400 metres at the Richard Boroto International Grand Prix in Quito, Ecuador in a time of 50.83 seconds. The following week, she won the Colombian Athletics Championships 400 metres race in a time of 51.68 seconds. She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics over 400 metres in August 2024.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result
Representing Colombia
2018	South American U23 Championships	Cuenca, Ecuador	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:35.50 CR
2019	South American Championships	Lima, Peru	2nd	400 m	53.18 s
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:32.81
	Pan American Games	Lima, Peru	11th	400 m	53.53 s
			6th	4 × 400 m relay	3:33.02
2022	South American Games	Asunción, Paraguay	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:31.30 GR
			3rd	Mixed relay	3:22.87
2023	Central American and Caribbean Games	San Salvador, El Salvador	8th	200 m	23.69 s
			—	4 × 100 m relay	DQ
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:31.16
			3rd	Mixed relay	3:20.36
	South American Championships	São Paulo, Brazil	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:31.39
			1st	Mixed relay	3:14.79 AR, CR
	Pan American Games	Santiago, Chile	—	200 m	DQ
			6th	4 × 100 m relay	44.79 s
			6th	Mixed relay	3:23.17
2024	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	19th (r)	Mixed relay	3:21.29
	Ibero-American Championships	Cuiabá, Brazil	5th	200 m	23.45 s
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:33.20
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	19th (r)	400 m	51.90 s