Marco Vilca started in the last positions, but little by little the “greyhound” beat all his opponents, placed third in his series and qualified to the 800 m final. 

Vilca, considered the best South American U20 athlete, said that it was a high-level competition.  “My opponents are highly experienced; they have set Olympic and world records. The difference of years of training is obvious; in a few years, I could stand side by side with them,” said Vilca.  

“I run the whole race in the second lane and that exhausted me, but the support of people helped me a lot. I am working hard to set a new record. Today, I couldn’t make it for one second, so I hope to improve it at the final,” said the athlete. 

Vilca will compete in the 800 m final this Saturday at 14:55 at the VIDENA Athletics Stadium.  

There is nothing impossible when dreams are big. More than a motivational phrase applied to the sport, the Peruvian men’s kata team uses it for life. Carlos Lam, John Trebejo and Oliver Del Castillo have won many gold medals in the Olympic cycle, but none like the one earned at home with the support of thousands of people. This will remain in the history of Peruvian sport. 

The tears in their eyes, the sincere hugs with their parents, who were in the first row, and the hundreds of memories in their minds, closed on a high note this wonderful afternoon. The results of the seven judges declared them as winners with a score of 25.48 out of 24.20 from Mexico, and the emotions overflow. 

The four-minute routine of the Peruvians were applauded by the audience at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center and athletes felt that energy. “It’s a unique experience to win a medal at home. In fact, we were shaking when we heard the applauses for us and my teammates who also got medals on this unforgettable day,” said Carlos Lam. 

Meanwhile, John Trebejo thanked all the people who played a significant role in this achievement. “It’s been many years of training. In every competition we participated in, we always dreamed of this moment at home. Everyone plays a significant role, especially our sensei Jimmy Moreno, who trained us for each of our presentations on the tatami,” he added. 

Lam, Trebejo and Del Castillo have been part of the team since they were very young. They have won South American and Pan American championships, and open international tournaments, but none like the golden medal earned at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center. They feel they have touched the heaven with their hands. 

“Dance of Diversity” is the name for the closing ceremony of the sports event that has united the countries of the Americas for 17 days. 

The closing ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will take place on Sunday, August 11, at 19:00, and the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee provided details of this vibrant event to be held at the National Stadium. 

The COPAL President, Carlos Neuhaus, expressed mixed feelings because the Pan American Games will end in a few days: “As all good things come to an end, this event will be fantastic. We have a great surprise, just as the opening ceremony dazzled everyone.” 

In this press conference, Gian Marco was also introduced as the closing ceremony headliner, and expressed his gratitude for the invitation: “We have the challenge to surpass the opening ceremony. We have prepared a special show that I hope people like. I also have a surprise for everyone at the end of the show,” he said. 

The closing ceremony is led by a talented production team from Lima 2019 and the prestigious Italian company Balich WorldWide Shows, an international leader in the live entertainment industry, which oversaw the Lima 2019 opening ceremony and the Torino 2006, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 opening ceremonies. 

Nikos Lagousakos, creative director of the closing ceremony, said that this is the thirteenth ceremony he performs and working in Peru has been very special. “I’m impressed with this beautiful land and its over than three thousand dances, and that’s the great diversity of Peru, so we’ll continue with the dance in this ceremony.  

Peruvian dances will be the main artistic shows at the ceremony to close on a high note this sports event. Fabricio Varela, director of the National Folkloric Ballet, said that: 

“As a Peruvian, it’s a great satisfaction to be at this ceremony and to showcase the Peruvian culture. We have different cultures and traditions and that diversity makes us bigger.”   

The costume designs are in charge of the talented Pepe Corzo, who oversaw the design of 1000 unique costumes. While Lucho Quequezana continues in charge of the musical direction and the renowned Dj Shushupe will set the pace for the ceremony that will seek to make the athletes dance before bidding farewell to Lima. 

Chilean duo Power Peralta formed by brothers Gabriel and Raúl Peralta, and the singer Francisca Valenzuela will perform at the ceremony, representing Chile, which will host the “Santiago 2023 Pan American Games” 

Fact: 

About 955 artists on stage, of which 893 are volunteers, will portray the ancient culture of Peru through their dances. The National Folkloric Ballet, directed by Fabricio Varela, will have a main role and will delight with its talent the 50 thousand attendees and the million viewers who will follow the live broadcast. 

Photo Gallery (click here) 

Once again, karate brought glory to Peruvian sport in an unforgettable afternoon at Villa El Salvador Sports Center.  The fans at the Lima Sur precinct celebrated every routine performed by the Peruvian athletes. Ingrid Aranda defeated the Brazilian Nicole Mota and won the bronze medal, and the women’s team formed by Saida Salcedo, Sol Romaní and Andrea Almarza.

As soon as the competition ended on the tatami, Aranda raised her hands, with an amazing expression of joy on her face and ran to stand to hug her mother. The seven judges gave her the victory before a standing ovation from the crowd.

Likewise, before the individual bout, it was reported that the Costa Rican delegation would not compete and was disqualified. The Peruvian team placed second in its group and had no rival for the bronze medal match.

As next host of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, arrived in Peru to be part of the Lima 2019 multi-sports celebration.

President Piñera will be entrusted with the organization of the next Pan American Games to be held in 2023 in Santiago de Chile. The the Lima 2019 Closing Ceremony will take place this Sunday, August 11, at the National Stadium.

Piñera arrived, with anticipation, to enjoy up close this multi-sports experience. For this reason, he attended the Costa Verde venue to congratulate his compatriot María José Moya, who won the gold medal in speed skating today, August 9. He congratulated her on her brilliant achievement and even gave himself the pleasure of wearing her medal, as well as biting it, as is the tradition of athletes.

President of Chile stayed at the venue to enjoy the exciting BMX cycling finals, where Colombian Mariana Pajón, the star of this discipline, won the gold medal, like the Ecuadorian Alfredo Campo, in the men’s event.

Then, he visited other Lima 2019 venues to watch the athletics competitions.

The most important multi-sports event in the Americas is currently in the final stretch, and Peru is looking to remain among the top countries with the most medals. For this reason, the bronze collected by the female duo, consisting of Nathaly Paredes and Mía Rodríguez, after a tight match against Argentina is a noteworthy achievement.

The Peruvians, who have had a remarkable performance during the tournament, went out to the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center field of play determined to defeat their opponents Lucila Busson and Irina Podversich.

Thus, they won the first set with a wide margin of difference, due to imperfections in the game of their opponents. In the second set, the visiting team tried to match the score but they could not make it because the Peruvian team ended the game with a 2-0 victory in women’s doubles.

It is worth mentioning that, starting at 14:00, the Peruvian basque pelota team will try to increase the number of medals in this discipline. Therefore, they will face the Argentinian team once again in women's doubles fronton rubber ball.

Committed to the fight against doping in sport and the values of fair play, the Pan American Sports Organization, Panam Sports, informs the public that to date, a total of 1197 anti-doping controls have been carried out on the athletes participating in the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Of these, 670 were taken in competition and 527 out of competition.  
 
These tests represent one of the largest amounts of samples taken in the history of these continental Games, demonstrating the commitment of Panam Sports to uphold the highest standards of fair play as well as the Olympic and Pan American values in all of its competitions.  
 
According to the Medical Commission of Panam Sports, chaired by Dr. Bernardo Chernilo, of the 1197 tests to date, one (1) adverse case has been found, corresponding to the athlete from the Dominican Republic, Audrey Joel Perez, member of the men’s baseball team. The doping control test was positive for Oxandrolone (anabolic).  In the case of adverse analytical findings of athletes competing in team sports, more than two positive cases are required to invalidate the team’s result, so this case does not disqualify the team from the Dominican Republic.  
 
The athlete was informed of the result and his accreditation was immediately withdrawn. 
 
Faced with the potential for more positive cases in the following days of competition, or those that are still under review, Panam Sports is committed to providing information as soon as cases are confirmed and all due process has been complied with according to our regulations. 

ABOUT PANAM SPORTS 
 
Panam Sports is the leader of sports and the Olympic Movement in the Americas. Panam Sports encourages the sports development and supports our 41 National Olympic Committees members of the organization in order to inspire more participation in international competitions as well as the presence of the youth to prepare the next generation of athletes across the continent. 
 
Panam Sports works closely with athletes, National Olympic Committees (NOC), Organizing Committees of all regional Games, Pan American Sports Confederations, International Federations (IFs) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ensure the success of their main event: the Pan American Games. 

The celebration goes on. The Lima 2019 Director of Communications, Commercial and Marketing, Juan Antonio Silva, emphasized that the largest multi-sport event will continue with the Parapan American Games, after confirming that tickets for the Pan American Games Closing Ceremony have been sold out.

“There are no longer any tickets for the Closing Ceremony. All tickets have been sold out. (...) Lima 2019 is not yet over,” he said.  He also pointed out that there are tickets available for some preliminary competitions and the women’s volleyball and basketball finals, as well as women’s and men’s hockey and judo events.

“Some competitions are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. We invite you to go to any of the 11 points of sale,” he said. It should be noted that tickets for these competitions or the Parapan American Games can be purchased at Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco.

Also, at Metro and Wong supermarkets in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco.

On the Lima 2019 website: www.lima2019.pe. Or on the Teleticket website: https://teleticket.com.pe/lima2019.

Afterwards, Silva Sologuren highlighted that the Pan American Games Opening Ceremony fulfilled the objective of showing foreigners the natural and cultural wealth of Peru, and the purpose of encouraging Peruvians to feel proud.

Tomorrow, the Costa Verde beach circuit will receive the best 77 cyclists of the continent, who will compete in the individual road cycling event (men and women). In this extreme sport they will execute strategy, speed and endurance.

As a result of an incident occurred yesterday, and to ensure the safety of competitors, Panam Sports, the Municipality of Lima and the Peruvian National Police (PNP) decided to modify the start and finish line, moving it 1.6 km south of the place previously established.

The women's competition will begin at 09:00 and will count on the participation of  33 athletes who will make 5 laps (80.5 kilometers) to the circuit that will begin, as a start and finish line, near the Av. Brasil access, in Magdalena, to Los Pavos beach, in Barranco, where they will return to the San Martin access (San Isidro, close to the LUM museum), and continue by Av. Del Ejército, where they will make another lap, and return to the beach circuit until the finish line.

This event is a mass start road race, in which the athletes start in group and the first rider to cross the finish line wins. At 13.00, four hours later, the competition of 44 male athletes will begin. However, who will make 11 laps (177.1 km) to the same circuit.

In this event, the public will be able to cheer on the athletes during the route that will cover from the district of Magdalena to the district of Miraflores, as well as witness world-class athletes, among which are the silver medalist in Rio 2016 in pursuit, Chloe Dygert, and the 2018 Pan American champion of individual road cycling, Cuban Arlenis Sierra.

The Peruvian team is represented by 11 athletes who will participate in both events.

Streets Closure

The Costa Verde beach circuit will be closed to vehicles, from 22:00 on Friday, August 9, to 24:00 on August 10, from Av. Universitaria to Av. Huaylas and all its accesses. 

Also, Av. Del Ejército will remain closed, from Av. Coronel Portillo to the Manuel Bonilla Sports Center. Meanwhile, the stretch from Av. Brasil to Av. Huaylas will be available at 18:30 on August 10.