Team members Erika Inuma, Milagros Cotrina, Jenniffer Mamani, Nicole Pérez, Nicole Pelayo and Diana Flores, under the technical direction of Luis Cabanillas, hope to receive the support of the best fans in the world.  

This Para sport, which is one of the greatest shows of Lima 2019, is designed for people with visual impairment. Each team has three members and they all wear eyeshades that block out their vision completely. 

It is important to note that goalball has been contested at the Parapan American Games since 2011. The ball used weights 1.25 kg and has bells inside that make noise to guide the Para athletes. 

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE 

Fans can still purchase tickets for goalball, boccia, Para taekwondo, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, para cycling track and wheelchair tennis. 

They are available through the website (www.lima2019.pe) or the several authorized points of sale. 

The Parapan American Games will end on September 1. A total of 1890 athletes from 33 countries of the continent will participate in 17 sports and 18 disciplines during this event.

Strengthen by his Andean heart, the Lima 2019 ambassador Efraín Sotacuro won the fifth medal for Peru, in Para athletics, a sport that has proven to be really good for the country.

In a dramatic finish, defined in the last few meters, the Para athlete born in Huancavelica and living in Huancayo reached the podium by crossing the line in the third place. He won the bronze in the 1500 m event, class T46 (Para athletes with physical impairment in upper limbs). However, a few minutes later, the judges disqualified Brazilian Yagonny Reis de Souza for committing a fault during the competition. The Peruvian then was awarded silver, and given the second place.

During the competition, the Lima 2019 ambassador led the pack for moments, even if this event is not his specialty. He specialized in marathon, as proved in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games where he placed in the top fourth of the world.

At the modern track of the athletics stadium, other Peruvians participated in the 1500 m event, such as: Carlos Sangama, who placed fourth and Piter Ticllasuca, who placed fifth. The winner was the Chilean Mauricio Orrego, and Ignacio Sepúlveda, also from Chile, won bronze. The latter had a dramatic duel with Sotacuro in the last meters, who finally won supported by all Peruvian fans.

With Sotacuro medal, Peru totals five medals, along with Carlos Felipa and Luis Sandoval in Para athletics (both silver), Jorge Arcela in shooting Para sports (silver) and Fred Villalobos in judo (bronze).

TICKETS FOR SALE

To see this amazing Para athletes in action at the Parapan American Games, go get your tickets, starting at PEN 10. There will be a 50 % discount for minors, senior citizens and people with an impairment. Tickets can be bought at tickets booth at VIDENA (gates 1 and 10) and at the 11 authorized points of sale in the city.

Tickets can be also purchased online through lima2019.pe, where you will also find the Sports Calendar with detailed competition schedules. In the case of e-tickets, printing will no longer be necessary since customers can show their e-ticket from their mobile phones at the entrance of the sports venue.

The Peruvian women’s goalball team received a warm welcome from fans in its debut against the experienced team from the US in the group stage of this amazing Para sport that promises to be one of the best performances of Lima 2019.

The Peruvian fans lived up to their role as hosts by chanting at the top of their lungs the memorable “como no te voy a querer.” Before the event started, the legendary “Arriba Peru” echoed through the Miguel Grau Coliseum of Callao, boosting the confidence of the three Peruvian goalball players.

The Peruvian trio was unable to beat the North American team, who defined the match in the first period. However, the Para athletes defended the Peruvian flag with honor and spirit, to the rhythm of the encouraging words and applause coming from the stands. They also backed their opponent’s defense into a corner in more than one occasion, forcing them to repel hard throws.

When the match ended, the Peruvian goalball players approached the stand, where the public applauded and greeted them. With this in mind, goalball player Diana Flores invited all Peruvians to continue cheering for Peru’s national goalball team.

“The energy that the fans transmit to us is something that allows us to keep going and reinforces our belief that representing Peru is the best thing that’s ever happened to us. That’s why, tomorrow we’re going for the win,” she stated with excitement.

She also thanked Lima 2019 for the chance it gives goalball players to be able to put into practice their abilities in first-rate sports facilities. “This makes our work on the field of play more valuable and it’s the best reward for our intense training,” she concluded.

Additionally, this Monday 26, the three tough Peruvians will seek to redeem themselves against Canada, at 16:15. There is no doubt that the Peruvian fans will continue supporting the Para athletes unconditionally, who, through their efforts, wish to leave Peru at the top of the largest Para sports event in the continent. 

As a security measure and to avoid possible losses of family members during the sport competitions of the Parapan American Games, the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee has designed special yellow bracelets that can be placed on children, seniors or vulnerable people, to achieve the prompt location of parents or legal guardians.

Jacqueline Lobrano, head of the Lima 2019 Spectator Services, informed that more than 4000 bracelets were placed on children in the different competitions venues during the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.

“The bracelets have a code, with which the personal data of the parent or guardian of the minor, senior or vulnerable person requiring special attention is stored in a computer system. It is yellow and has the Lima 2019 logo. It is not mandatory, it is provided only if the legal guardian deems it necessary for the family member to have that specific support,” she explained.

Parents or guardians who want this support must go to the Information Centers that are located in all the sports venues of Lima 2019 and request their registration and the delivery of the bracelet. If a family member who wears this bracelet gets lost inside the venue, he may be located by Lima 2019 personnel and, upon reading the code, the name, address and telephone number of the guardian may be known and the desired reunion can be achieved.

“We call the person in charge and coordinate the quick and timely reunion. It has an entire mechanism and procedure involving Lima 2019 security personnel and officers of the Peruvian National Police. It has given us good results in the Pan American Games and now we’re applying it again in the Parapan American Games, in Lima 2019 we take care of every detail,” Lobrano said.

For the Parapan American Games, a total of 19 Information Centers have been implemented in the different sports venues of Lima 2019, where parents or guardians can request this service.

On Monday 26, the Peruvian sitting volleyball team will compete against the powerful team of Brazil in the Callao Sports Center for the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

This match will be held at 13:00 and will have the support of the fans that will fill up the venue.

Previously, in this same venue, the Peruvian men’s sitting volleyball team will face off the Colombian team at 09:00. At night, the same Peruvian men’s team will play against Costa Rica at 19:00.

On August 26, the following disciplines will award medals: Para athletics, Para cycling track, Para swimming, Para table tennis, and shooting Para sport.

The following Para athletics events will be held at the VIDENA Athletics Stadium starting at 15:00: men’s long jump final T47, men’s discus throw final F56, women’s 400 m T47, women’s shot put final F57, women’s javelin throw final F54, men’s 100 m final T37, among others.

Para cycling track will also be held at VIDENA in two sessions. The first session will start at 11:00 and end at 11:45, and the second session will go from 14:45 to 18:15.

Para swimming will be held at the Aquatic Center in VIDENA starting at 09:00, and Para table tennis will be held in the same venue starting at 10:00.

Finally, the venue where shooting Para sport will be held is Las Palmas Air Base.

The day will be completed with wheelchair basketball (VIDENA), football 5-a-side and football 7-a-side (Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center), goalball (Callao Sports Center), wheelchair rugby (Villa El Salvador), and wheelchair tennis (Lawn Tennis).

The Lima 2019 Parapan American Games make history in the world because today the tickets sales surpassed the past editions (Toronto, Guadalajara, among others), with 100,000 tickets sold only 4 days after the start of the competitions.

The Games opening ceremony was held two days ago, at the National Stadium and the fans’ expectations to witness the Para athletes in the different sports disciplines have grown.

Julio Ávila, president of Paralympic Committee (APC), congratulated the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee and all Peruvians on this achievement.

“Having surpassed the number of 100,000 tickets sold in Lima 2019 is great news and an evidence of growing interest in Para sports throughout the Americas, he said.

He said he is excited to know the final record in Lima 2019 to be increased in Santiago 2023. “There’s still a week of competition and I’m sure that the numbers of sales will be a lot higher,” he added.

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE

Fans can still purchase tickets for goalball, boccia, Para taekwondo, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, Para cycling track, and wheelchair tennis.

In that sense, tickets can be purchased on the website: www.lima2019.pe or in the different authorized points of sale.

The Parapan American Games gather 1890 athletes from 33 countries participating in 17 sports and 18 sports disciplines and will end on September 1.

The Lima 2019 cultural fest, which is taking place alongside the Para sports competitions, had the Opa Clowns as very special guests. They carried out an intervention at Parque de la Exposición yesterday afternoon and cheered up the people in attendance.  

Both clowning and Lima 2019 have a common goal: to bring the best out of people and society in general. “I believe that clowning has something in common with the athletes and the Lima 2019 organizers themselves: they want to give their very best,” stated clown actress Johanna Montauban.  

The clown actors are former members of the well-known Bola Roja project who currently continue carrying out interventions in places such as hospitals, streets, etc. to help people connect to their inner emotions through art and play.  

“When Bola Roja closed, we were a group of friends who wanted to continue going to hospitals and performing interventions through clowning. So we chose to carry on and we named ourselves ‘Opa Clowns’,” explains Montauban.  

However, their experience in Lima 2019 Culturaymi, where they also participated during the Pan American Games, was slightly different. “It’s so funny... You can find all kinds of people here, so this is wonderful for a clown artist because you can play with absolutely anything: there are many elements and resources.”  

You can contact Opa Clowns on Instagram and Facebook. 

Milco, the Parapan American Games official mascot has become quite a popular figure among children. At Culturaymi, the Lima 2019 cultural program held at Parque de la Exposición, children make and paint masks. They also design comic-style posters with the image of the Cuchimilco, the Chancay clay statuette.

University teacher Karen Fasabi is responsible for both initiatives along with Asociación Cultural Las Shicras and the Círculo de Estudios “Cultura para Todos”, formed by students of the tourism and hospitality career at the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University.

“Milco is not only the Pan American and Parapan American Games mascot, he has also become a cultural ambassador. Through him, children know and broaden their knowledge of the Chancay culture, to which he belongs,” pointed out Fasabi.

The archaeologist Walter Tosso is the advisor of these education proposals. He is the President of the Asociación Cultural Las Shicras and has been dedicated to exhaustive research into the Chancay culture for several years.

The “Creating a Milco Comic Poster” workshop, held at the Culturaymi auditorium, was directed by teachers from the Poussin Design Institute. They gave participants didactic guidelines to achieve a more exact approach to the comic version of the Cuchimilco, and notions of the history of the Chancay culture.

The picturesque Cuchimilco was represented in masks, through the “Make your own Milco mask” workshop at the Lima Art Museum (MALI), as part of the Culturaymi activities. Many children poured their creativity to give color to this character that has become the most famous of the Chancay culture. A unique strategy that brings them even closer to the history of Peru and has Milco as an ally of culture.

He could not hide his joy. He shared a never-ending hug with Yuliana Bolívar, the Pan American medalist who attended his match. Fred Villalobos reached the Parapan American podium for judo and had the audience of VIDENA’s Sports Center 3 on the edge of their seats. 

“Let’s all play, that’s the first thing I’d like to say, but what’s most important is how happy I am for this achievement. It doesn’t matter if I achieved it, what matters is what has been achieved,” said the Para athlete , who participated for the first time in this competition for people with visual impairment.

Villalobos feels like he has achieved the main goal: reaching the podium. “It was part of the plan. We knew that many of my contenders were Olympic champions but I wasn’t going to let them knock me down. The judoka from the US was strong and I had to hold him on the ground, that was the mission,” he added

He also said that “the psychological aspect is very important, but we can’t overlook the physical and spiritual part, it’s a trinomial that can help a person be complete as a human being.”

The 28-year-old was born in Lima but lived in Arequipa since he was a child, due to his father’s work.  In this city, he went to school and university, where he studied Law and discovered judo as an extracurricular activity. “I’ve been practicing judo for four years. That’s where my passion for this sport began. Since last year, I’ve been practicing it professionally. It used to be a hobby, and now I’m here,” he stated.

“We’re over 139 athletes in 17 sports. We’ve already won some medals and there will be many more to come, proving that Peru has guts. We’ve also demonstrated that we can organize Pan American and Parapan American Games and, in the near future, the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” he added

Still excited about the medal, Fred concluded with an emotional message. “All I’m saying is that it is possible, and that the ‘Arriba Peru” should be in each of our hearts. Don’t get disheartened; we all fall, but like good athletes, we know how to get back up. Only you limit yourself. We need to keep moving forward; let this be an example of persistence.” 

The bonds between athletes can be very intense, despite there not being any blood relations. The hug between the Peruvian judoka Yuliana Bolívar, Pan American Games medalist, with Fred Villalobos, Parapan American Games bronze medalist, proves that genuine affection comes from the soul.

This friendship arose two years ago during training sessions in VIDENA and they reunited this morning during a glorious episode of Peruvian sports. Bolívar, who volunteered for the judo competition, congratulated the Peruvian Para athlete as soon as he left the tatami and left us a captivating image. Fred’s visual impairment did not stand in the way of their embrace.

“Fred is and has always been a good friend of mine, form the day we first met two years ago, when neither of us had won anything. That closeness created a mutual bond. That’s why he showed me his affection when he noticed my presence. I admire Fred because he’s a great human being and I’m happy that we now both share a bronze medal in the Games,” said Yuliana Bolívar. Fred Villalobos proved that Peru has guts at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

Since she arrived from Venezuela, Fred is one of the members of the big Peruvian judoka family she was able to build. “I’m proud of being Peruvian. Having an achievement in sports doesn’t mean I’m any less human. I’m always going to support my friends from Judo, because they opened their hearts to me when I needed it the most, said the Peruvian athlete.

At the end of the day at VIDENA’s Sports Center 2, Yuliana was approached by fans who asked her for autographs and photos. “I didn’t expect so much affection from people and it’s rewarding to not only have the support of my Judo family, but also the Peruvian public. That’s worth more than any medal,” she concluded.