Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta (born 5 March 1962),[3] more commonly known as Cecilia Tait, is a Peruvian politician and retired volleyball player. She was a key player in the rise of the Peruvian women's national volleyball team in the 1980s.[4][5][6]

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Cecilia Tait - IOC Member since 2023
Personal information
Full nameCecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta
NicknameLa Zurda de Oro ("The Golden Lefty")
Born (1962-03-05) 5 March 1962 (age 62)[1]
Lima, Peru[1]
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Volleyball information
PositionOpposite
Number7
National team
1978–1988 Peru
Honours
Women's volleyball
Representing  Peru
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1988 Seoul Team
World Championship
Silver medal – second place 1982 Peru
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Czechoslovakia Team
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place 1986 Moscow
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1979 Caguas Team
Silver medal – second place 1987 Indianapolis Team
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Caracas Team
CSV South American Championship
Gold medal – first place 1979 Rosario
Gold medal – first place 1983 São Paulo
Gold medal – first place 1985 Caracas
Gold medal – first place 1987 Punta del Este
Silver medal – second place 1981 Santo André
Close

Sports career

Nicknamed "La Zurda de Oro" ("The Golden Lefty"), Tait participated in three Summer Olympics with the Peru national team, finishing sixth in 1980, fourth in 1984,[5] and winning a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where she was the team captain.[4][7][8] She was a member of the Peruvian team that won the silver medal at the 1982 FIVB World Championship in Peru, and the bronze medal at the 1986 FIVB World Championship in Czechoslovakia.[1] She won a silver medal at the 1979 Pan American Games in Caguas, a bronze medal at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, and a silver medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis.[1]

In 2005, Tait was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.[4]

Political career

In 1998, Tait entered politics, becoming elected municipal councillor in Villa María del Triunfo, representing the Fujimorist party Vamos Vecino of President Alberto Fujimori. Tait was elected Congresswoman in 2000, representing Perú Posible. She was the first Afro-Peruvian elected to Peru's Congress.[9] The resignation of President Alberto Fujimori led to new elections the following year in which she was reelected for the period 2001–2006. Tait sponsored several bills approved by the Congress that expanded sports programs for both the country's most talented athletes and poor school children as well.[3] She failed to attain reelection in 2006, but she was re-elected to Congress in 2011 and left office in 2016 after she failed to attain re-election under the Peruvians for Change party.[10]

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.