His passion for cycling started at a young age. Botero always went to school by bicycle, in the Antioquia municipality of El Retiro, the town where he was born. Also, when he entered college, he never stopped training before going to class, so he was always in contact with a bicycle.[6]
His beginnings in mountain biking are due in part to his uncle, John Jairo Botero, who, living in Italy, was passionate about this sport.
With the support of his coach, Héctor Pérez, he launched his career towards the Singapore Youth Olympic Games in 2010.[6]
Participation in competitions
Jhonnatan Botero's sports career is identified by his participation in the following national [7] and international events:
His participation in the first edition of the games was notable for being the second athlete with a gold medal among all the Colombian participants of the event, by obtaining victory over the Italian mountain biking team on August 17.[10]
2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Botero had a great participation in the Mountain Biking of the
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he took fifth place and gave Colombia its twenty-second Olympic diploma in this sporting competition.[3]
MTB Pan American Championship, Colombia
During this event, held in 2018, Botero won the gold medal in the team relay event, along with the participation of his teammates Valentina Abril and Leydy Mera.
This competition was held in the city of
Pereira,
Risaralda, where the second place was occupied by the Costa Rican team and the third by Mexico.[11]
MTB Pan American Championship, Puerto Rico
In 2021, Botero participated in the Pan American Mountain Biking (MTB) Championship, held in
Salinas (Puerto Rico), obtaining second place, behind Mexican
Gerardo Ulloa.[12]