Author: Lima 2019 press release Lima, 14 August 2019

THE MOST OUTSTANDING ATHLETES AT LIMA 2019

Several athletes stood out in the Pan American Games, but these were the stars that lighted up the Peruvian sky at Lima 2019.

Longoria
  1. Mexican racquetball player Paola Longoria won her third gold in the Pan American Games, winning the singles and doubles events.
  2. Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas took her first gold in the Pan American Games, after winning the triple jump event, even setting a new Pan American record.
  3. Colombian cyclist Mariana Pajón got her second gold medal in the Pan American Games, after the one she won at Guadalajara 2011.
  4. Argentina’s basketball team clearly won the competition and picked up their second gold medal since Mar del Plata 1995. The team led by Luis Scola amazed the audience at the Eduardo Dibós Coliseum.
  5. The Argentina’s hockey teams qualified to Tokyo 2020, showing their talent in each match, at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center. “Las Leonas” got their seventh gold and “Los Leones”, the tenth. Total Supremacy.
  6. Brazilian tennis player Hugo Calderano won two gold medals in singles and doubles. The best player in the history of the Americas shone in Lima 2019 with his best talent.
  7. Cuban wrestler Mijaín López reached his fifth consecutive Pan American gold at Lima 2019. The athlete who is also five-time world champion and three-time Olympic champion thanked the warmth of the Peruvian people.
  8. Argentinian men’s rugby team stopped the two-time Canadian champion’s supremacy in the Pan American Games. Los Pumas swept all their rivals, in an amazing physical game, in Villa Maria del Triunfo.
  9. Cuban Boxing shone again in a continental competition with eight gold medals out of 10 possible finals. Seven world champions and three Olympians confirmed that Cuba leads in this sport.
  10. Brazilian swimmer Leonardo de Deus became three-time Pan American champion in the 200 m butterfly event, even though he was not on the Brazilian Olympic Committee’s initial list. He came in to replace a teammate who tested positive in the doping control. In addition, he claimed gold in mixed 4x100 medley relay, silver in 4x100 medley relay and bronze in 200 m backstroke.
  11. Venezuelan fencer Ruben Limardo was crowned three-time Pan American champion in épée event. He also won bronze in the team event, having a total of eight medals in the Pan American Games.
  12. Argentinian swimmer Delfina Pignatiello was crowned as the queen of the waters at Lima 2019, when she claimed three gold medals in the races of 400, 800 and 1500 meters. At the age of 19, she is the child prodigy in swimming throughout South America.
  13. The American swimmer Margo Geer took four gold medals, one individual and four in relay events, becoming one of the most successful participants in Lima 2019.
  14. Colombian athlete Anthony Zambrano won two gold medals in the 400m and 4x400m events, standing out as one of the new South American stars in athletics for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
  15. Mexican diver Kevin Berlin was crowned as the new Latin American star after winning the 10m platform individual and synchronized events.
  16. Cuban judoka Idalys Ortíz picked up her third consecutive gold medal in the +78 kg event. She is one of the most successful athletes in Cuba.
  17. American wrestler Kyle Snyder became Pan American champion for the second time in the 97 kg event.  At the age of 23, he is also Olympic champion and two-time world champion.
  18. Swimmer Marcela Cunha won gold in open water swimming and closed a wonderful year, after two world gold medals in the 5 and 25 km aquatic marathon. With 10 gold medals, she was crowned as the woman with the most titles in the World Aquatic Sports Championships and entered the Hall of Fame, after winning at Lima 2019.
  19. Peruvian karateka Alexandra Grande and water skier Natalia Cuglievan went down in the history of Peruvian sport after winning their second consecutive gold medals in the Pan American Games. This fact will remain in history.