Ahtziri Sandoval

Ahtziri Viridiana Sandoval Pérez (born 5 October 1996 in Guadalajara) is a Mexican artistic gymnast. She is the 2017 Pan American vault champion and uneven bars silver medalist. She is the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games uneven bars champion and team and vault bronze medalist. She will represent Mexico at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life
Sandoval was born in Guadalajara on 5 October 1996, and she began practicing gymnastics at age five.

2014
Sandoval won the silver medal on the uneven bars and bronze medals on the vault and all-around at the Pan American Sports Festival. She then competed at the Pan American Championships, where she helped Mexico finish third as a team. Individually, she received bronze on the uneven bars behind Americans Ashton Locklear and Madison Kocian. At the World Championships, she helped the Mexican team finish 14th in the qualification round.

2015
Sandoval finished 11th in the all-around at the Mexican Championships. She then competed at the São Paulo Challenge Cup, where she placed sixth on both vault and uneven bars. She finished eighth all-around at the Olimpiada Nacional. In July, she competed at the Pan American Games where she helped Mexico finish fifth as a team. Individually, Sandoval qualified for the uneven bars final and finished sixth. Then at the World Championships, she finished 21st with the Mexican team.

2017
At the 2017 Mexican Championships, Sandoval finished third in the all-around. At the Central American Sports Festival she helped Mexico win gold as a team; individually she won silver on vault behind Yamilet Peña. Then at the Pan American Championships, she won gold on vault and silver on the uneven bars. She then competed at the World Championships on vault, uneven bars, and balance beam, but she did not qualify for any event finals.

2018
Sandoval won the bronze medal on uneven bars at the Mexican Championships. She then competed at the Guimarães Challenge Cup, where she won gold on uneven bars and placed sixth on vault. She next competed at the Central American and Caribbean Games, where she helped Mexico finish third. In the event finals, she won gold on uneven bars and bronze on vault. She withdrew from the World Championships due to torn ligaments and bone damage in her right foot.

2019
Sandoval returned to competition at the Mexican Championships and finished 11th in the all-around. She missed the rest of the season, including the Pan American Games, due to a toe injury that required surgery.

2020
Sandoval competed at the Melbourne World Cup, where she placed seventh on vault. She next competed at the Baku World Cup, placing sixth on vault during qualifications; however, event finals were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan.

2022
Sandoval returned to competition in 2022 as the captain of Mexico's national team. She placed first all-around at the Mexican Championships. She next competed at the 2022 Pan American Championships, where she helped Mexico place fourth as a team and qualify for the upcoming World Championships. Individually, she won bronze on vault behind Karla Navas of Panama and compatriot Natalia Escalera. She competed at the World Championships, helping the Mexican team finish 15th.

2023
Sandoval won the bronze medal in the all-around at the Mexican Championships. She competed at the 2023 Pan American Championships, where she helped Mexico win silver behind the United States. She next competed at the Central American and Caribbean Games where she helped Mexico win gold. Individually, she won the bronze medal on the vault. At the Paris World Challenge Cup, she finished fourth on vault and eighth on uneven bars.

At the 2023 World Championships Sandoval helped Mexico finish fourteenth in qualifications. Although Sandoval did not qualify for any individual finals, she earned a nominative berth to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games due to being the highest-placed eligible gymnast on the uneven bars. After the World Championships, she competed at the Pan American Games where the Mexican team placed fourth. In the event finals, she finished fourth on both vault and uneven bars.