Cecilia Tait

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

Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta (born 5 March 1962),^[2] 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.^[3][4][5]

Cecilia Tait - IOC Member since 2023
Personal information
Full name	Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta
Nickname	La Zurda de Oro ("The Golden Lefty")
Born	(1962-03-05) 5 March 1962 (age 62)[1] Lima, Peru[1]
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb)
Volleyball information
Position	Opposite
Number	7
National team
1978–1988  Peru
Honours Women's volleyball Representing  Peru Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Team World Championship 1982 Peru 1986 Czechoslovakia Team Goodwill Games 1986 Moscow Pan American Games 1979 Caguas Team 1987 Indianapolis Team 1983 Caracas Team CSV South American Championship 1979 Rosario 1983 São Paulo 1985 Caracas 1987 Punta del Este 1981 Santo André

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,^[4] and winning a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where she was the team captain.^[3][6][7] 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.^[3]

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.^[8] 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.^[2] 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.^[9]

References

1. "Cecilia Tait". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
2. "Cecilia Tait Vilacorta" (in Spanish). Congreso de la República del Peru. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
3. "Cecilia Tait". International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
4. "Volleyball; U.S. Women Beat China in Volleyball". The New York Times. Associated Press. 4 August 1984. sec. 1 p. 14. Retrieved 10 September 2024. (subscription required)
5. Dwyre, Bill (26 September 1988). "The Seoul Games : Women's Volleyball : Gallant Effort by U.S. Ends in Loss to Peru; No Chance for a Medal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 September 2024. (subscription required)
6. "1988 Summer Olympics – Seoul, South Korea – Volleyball" Archived 31 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine – databaseOlympics (Retrieved on 5 February 2008)
7. "Cecilia Tait". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
8. "Breaking the Color Barrier". Sun Sentinel. 6 April 2000. Retrieved 14 October 2023. (subscription required)
9. "El día que Cecilia Tait contó que le ofrecieron US$ 500 000 para pasarse al fujimorismo". Elpopular.pe (in Spanish). 25 May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

External links

• International Volleyball Hall of Fame profile
• Cecilia Tait at Olympics.com
• Cecilia Tait at Olympedia
• Volleybox.net profile
• Sports-reference.com profile (archived)