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Isai Rodriguez, Sam Chelanga capture gold and silver for U.S. in men´s 10,000 meters at Pan American Games

Isai Rodriguez and Sam Chelanga made history Friday at the Pan American Games, becoming the first American teammates to take the top two spots in the men’s 10,000-meter final at Julio Martinez Pradanos National Stadium in Santiago, Chile.

Rodriguez, an All-American at Oklahoma State, and Chelanga – the collegiate 10,000 record holder from 2010 at Liberty – became the first pair of teammates from any country since 1979 and only the third tandem in meet history to secure gold and silver in the event.

Rodriguez prevailed in 28 minutes, 17.84 seconds, the fastest Pan Am Games winning performance since 2007, and Chelanga clocked 29:01.21, with Guatemala’s Alberto Gonzalez earning bronze in 29:12.24.

Rodriguez and Chelanga joined Mexico’s Rodolfo Gomez and Enrique Aquino in 1979, along with Luis Hernandez and Gomez in 1975 as the only teammates to sweep the top two spots in the men’s 10,000.

Rodriguez secured the first 10,000 gold for the U.S. since Bruce Bickford triumphed in 1987 in Indiana.

It marked the second straight Pan Am Games that the Americans had two athletes on the 10,000 podium, with Reid Buchanan and Lawi Lalang achieving silver and bronze in 2019 in Peru. The U.S. also had a pair of 10,000 medalists in 1967 in Winnipeg.

The Americans added bronze medals in the women’s 1,500-meter final and javelin throw competition, in addition to the men’s shot put, taking the lead with 19 overall medals entering the last day of the track and field schedule.

Brazil leads with seven gold medals and is second behind the Americans with 18 overall medals.

Darlan Romani triumphed for Brazil in the men’s shot put with a fifth-round effort of 70-1 (21.36m).

Mexico’s Uziel Aaron Munoz secured silver at 69-4.75 (21.15m), with former Arizona standout and NCAA Division 1 champion Jordan Geist edging fellow American athlete Roger Steen for bronze by a 67-4.25 (20.53m) to 67-3.50 (20.51m) margin.

Colombia’s Flor Denis Ruiz won the women’s javelin gold medal with a throw of 207 feet (63.10m) on her opening attempt.

Nebraska teammates Rhema Otabor, representing the Bahamas, and American competitor Maddie Harris captured silver and bronze, respectively. Otabor had a mark of 198-7 (60.54m) and Harris produced a throw of 197 feet (60.06m).

Venezuela’s Joselyn Brea completed a sweep of the women’s 1,500 and 5,000 titles, clocking 4:11.80 to edge Cuba’s Daily Cooper (4:11.86) and American athlete Emily Mackay (4:12.02).

Gianna Woodruff believed she had become the first female athlete from Panama to capture a Pan Am Games gold medal in any event, clocking 56.44 in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.

But Woodruff was later disqualified as a result of Rule 22.6.2, which states that an athlete is penalized after “knocking down or displacing any hurdle by hand, body or the upper side of the lead leg.”

Brazil’s Marlene Santos, who ran 57.18, was elevated to the event winner, with Daniela Rojas from Costa Rica earning silver in 57.41 and Montverde Academy of Florida senior Michelle Smith, representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, taking bronze in 57.53.

Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde emerged victorious in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 49.19.

Brazil’s Matheus Lima earned silver in 49.69 and Cuba’s Yoao Illas was the bronze medalist in 49.74.

Cuba’s Luis Enrique Zayas cleared 7-5.25 (2.27m) on his third attempt to prevail in the men’s high jump final.

Puerto Rico’s Luis Joel Castro achieved a 7-4.25 (2.24m) clearance on his first opportunity to capture silver, with Donald Thomas of the Bahamas grabbing bronze after achieving the height on his third try.

Cuba added two more medals in the men’s triple jump final, with Lazaro Martinez winning on his first attempt with a 56-4.75 (17.19m) performance.

Brazil’s Almir Dos Santos secured silver at 55-6.25 (16.92m) and Cuba’s Cristian Napoles took the bronze medal at 54-8 (16.66m), holding off American athlete Chris Benard and his fourth-place mark of 54-1 (16.48m).

(11/07/2023) Views: 519 ⚡AMP
by Erik Boal

Santiago 2023 - Yarima Garcia wins Cuba's first Pan Am Games women's 100m since 1991

With the sun setting on the Andes, things were just heating up in athletics at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 inside the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, as gold, silver and bronze were awarded in the women's 100m final.

Yarima Garcia of Cuba sprinted to a time of 11.36, taking the Pan American title and the gold medal. She held off Guyana's Jasmine Abrams (11.52), who took silver. Michelle-lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago was the bronze medallist at 11.53.

A hushed crowd waited as the field of eight sat in the blocks, readying for the start. Garcia took the lead by the halfway mark and didn't let up, cruising to the gold medal.

Well ahead of the field, Garcia clasped her hands over her mouth in disbelief as the realization of her win began to set in.

The victory is the first win for Cuba since Liliana Allen took the title at the 1991 Games in Havana.

Mexico's Cecilia Tamayo, who won her semi-final some 24 hours ago, finished eighth in the final.

(11/02/2023) Views: 547 ⚡AMP

Pan American Games race walk course found to be 3 km short

A failure to measure the course at the 2023 Pan American Games leaves several female athletes out of Olympic qualification in the 20 km race walk.

It was a rocky start to the first day of athletics at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday, when the women’s 20 km race walk course was found to be three kilometers shorter than the prescribed distance.

This unexpected lack of accurate course measurement led to officials quashing the finishing times, throwing the entire event into disarray. Race officials initially thought first-place finisher Kimberly García of Peru had broken the world record when she finished in an astounding time of one hour, 12 minutes and 26 seconds–11 minutes faster than the existing world record.

Confusion arose when all of the top 12 competitors finished inside the world record mark and significantly inside the Olympic 20 km race walk qualification standard of 1:29:20.

García, who had already secured a place in the Paris 2024 Olympics, told reporters she sensed something was off early in the race. “I realized it since the first kilometer,” García told the Associated Press. “The time did not coincide with the distance.”

The race walks in the Pan American Games were critical for North and South American athletes aiming to qualify for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Athletes could secure their spots by meeting the entry standard time or by earning World Athletics ranking points.

The Santiago 2023 organization committee laid the blame for the distance blunder at the Association of Panamerican Athletics (APA). In their statement, Santiago 2023 organizers explained, “The APA is the only organization authorized to carry out measurements, and therefore is responsible for the official distance of the competition. We deeply regret the inconvenience for the athletes, their coaches, the public and the attending press, but this situation cannot be attributed to the organizing committee.”

As a result, race organizers quickly re-measured the course for the men’s race, which created a nearly one-hour delay for the men’s start.

This is only the second time in the last 90 years that an official Olympic athletics event was mismeasured at a continental championship. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, the men’s 3,000m ended up being the men’s 3,400m steeplechase when the man in charge of the lap count lost track–something they do not have to worry about nowadays, in the era of electronic measurement.

The women’s 20 km race walk times were officially deemed invalid, meaning they will not be eligible for 2024 Olympic qualification.

(10/31/2023) Views: 565 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Pan American Games 2023: Peru's Cristhian Pacheco and Mexico's Citlali Cristian claim marathon titles in Santiago

The athletics programme kicked off with the men's and women's marathons in Santiago, Chile, with Peru winning their first gold medal at this year's Games.

Peru's Cristhian Pacheco retained the Pan American Games men's marathon title, while Citlali Cristian of Mexico secured the victory in the women's race at 2023 edition on the streets of Santiago, Chile on Sunday (October 22).

30-year-old Pacheco finished alone at the front in a time of 2:11:14.

His Pan American Games record from 2019 in Lima is 2:09:31.

Home favorite Hugo Catrileo came away with silver in 2:12:07. Luis Ostos - also from Peru claimed bronze in 2:12:34.

In the women's race, Mexican Citlali Cristian powered home in 2:27:12, beating the previous Games record by more than three minutes.

Florencia Borelli of Argentina, who was alone in the lead until the last two kilometers, took silver, 17 seconds after the winner.

2019 Pan American Games champion Gladys Tejeda of Peru finished third in 2:30:39.

The track and field athletics events at the Julio Martínez National Stadium in Santiago, Chile start on October 30.

(10/24/2023) Views: 650 ⚡AMP