Heidy Marleny Juárez Guzmán (born May 14, 1977 in Los Angeles) is a Guatemalan taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's welterweight category.
[1] She picked up a total of eight medals in her career, including a silver from the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a bronze from the 1995 World Taekwondo Championships in Manila, Philippines, and finished fourth in the 67-kg division at the 2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing a chance to become Guatemala's first ever Olympic medalist in history.
[4][5] She opened her match with a superb 7–0 victory over Australia's Caroline Bartasek, before dropping a 4–6 decision to the local favorite Elisavet Mystakidou of Greece by the powerful commotion of the home crowd in the quarterfinals.
[6] In the repechage rounds, Juarez came strong from her premature exit to edge New Zealand's Verina Wihongi 4–1, and then yielded her revenge over Puerto Rican fighter Ineabelle Díaz for a 5–2 victory to mount a chance for Guatemala's first ever Olympic medal, but she failed to salvage it in a 2–5 defeat to South Korea's Hwang Kyung-seon.
[3][7][8] At the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Juarez improved her feat from a fourth-place Olympic finish by picking up a silver medal in the women's 67-kg division, losing the final 2–8 to Canada's Karine Sergerie.