Lima 2019 took part in the tribute to UPC athletes who will participate in the Pan American and Parapan American Games.

Carlos Neuhaus, Lima 2019 Organizing Committee President, attended a tribute to athletes from the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC) who will compete at the Pan American and Parapan American Games. The event took place on the university premises.

Among the attendees were Edward Roekaert, President of UPC; Sebastian Suito, President of the Peruvian Institute of Sports; Jaime Reusche, Main Advisor of Lima 2019; Juan Antonio Silva, Lima 2019 Communications, Commercial and Marketing Manager; and Jenny Martínez, Peruvian delegation Chef de Mission.

Carlos Neuhaus highlighted the athletes’ hard work as they prepare to compete for Peru. “We are happy to have met our goals with the support of the Government. It gave us an event greater responsibility to host the Games efficiently. We are organizing an event within the set budget. This hadn't happened for a long time. Now, It’s time to hand over the baton to the athletes so that they will pick up lots of medals. Lima 2019 will be a turning point for sports and other areas,” he stated.

“We are ready and prepared to be the best hosts in the Americas. We hope the athletes will make themselves at home. We're also ready to welcome our Peruvian athletes at the Village in the coming days. They will have the chance to meet the best athletes in the Americas and the world. We want them to become the new national heroes,” Neuhaus added.

Sixty athletes who study at UPC participated in the tribute, including Hugo del Castillo in taekwondo, Vania Torres in surf, Kimberly Cardoza and José Luis Mandros in athletics, Aleska Burga in archery, and Jesús Salva in Para badminton. They received the Peruvian flag that they will defend at the Games.

ABOUT LIMA 2019

The Opening Ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will be held at the National Stadium on July 26. This continental event will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and delegations from the Americas.

There will be 17 days of competitions and ceremonies between July 26 and August 11, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues like VIDENA, Villa María Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.

The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 61 disciplines, in which athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 21 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Fifteen athletes and Para athletes, qualified for Lima 2019, were recognized by the Armed Forces of Peru at the Coliseum of the Peruvian Air Force Officers Academy, that will host one of Lima 2019 venues, the shooting range of Las Palmas Air Base.

The president of the Peruvian Military Sports Federation (FEDEMILPE), Major General FAP Moisés Barack Castro; the chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Peru, General César Astudillo Salcedo; General Commander Jorge Céliz Kuong of the Peruvian Army; Admiral Fernando Cerdán Ruiz of the Peruvian Navy and General Rodolfo García Esquerre of the Peruvian Air Force attended the ceremony led by the Minister of Defense, Jorge Moscoso Flores.

The fifteen honored athletes were: Juan Condori, Jair Mena, Tony Gialescka, Jane Vanessa Collins (Modern Pentathlon); Juan Francia, Hans Alva, Jorge Salinas (Equestrian); Natalia Correa (Rugby sevens); Ángel Adriel (Fencing); Frank Nolberto (Judo); Brianda Rivera, Liz Carrión, Kevin Altamirano (Shooting); José Luis Casas and Carlos Felipa (Para Athletics). Cadets from the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Peru also attended.

Minister Moscoso expressed his enthusiasm and recognition to athletes in his opening speech. He praised their commitment to Peru and the importance of this multi-sports event to be held in Peru for the first time.

“We are here this morning for something special: recognize the effort to prepare for high-level competitions. We are very proud of them. I’m entirely sure that they will give everything day by day to achieve their objectives and represent our country. I’d also like you to remeber this: “Only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible,” he said.

The Peruvian Military Sports Federation (FEDEMILPE), created in 1959, is a non-profit institution attached to the Ministry of Defense and recognized by the IPD. It is affiliated to the International Military Sports Council, which has 137 member nations in the world, and to the South American Sports Union, with 11 member nations in the region.

The president Moisés Barack guaranteed full support for athletes of the FEDEMILPE and the Armed Forces of Peru.

“This year, the personnel of the three Peruvian armed institutions received recognition for their effort, dedication and perseverance. Thanks to their hard training, they have qualified to be members of the national teams participating in these Games. This small but significant ceremony is a recognition to them.”

Para athlete José Luis Casas, in charge of speaking on behalf of a group of top athletes, said that we all are committed to reaching the gold for Peru in Lima 2019.

“We try to improve ourselves daily for the glory of our institutions both at a national and international level. I’d like to finish quoting the British writer Gilbert Chesterton: “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” We have many rivals in front of us, but we have our whole country pushing us to victory. Let’s keep moving forward all together," he said.

ABOUT LIMA 2019

The opening ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will be held at the National Stadium in July 26, 2019. This continental event will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and delegations from the Americas.

There will be 17 days of competitions and ceremonies between July 26 and August 11, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues like VIDENA, Villa María Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.

The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 61 disciplines, in which athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 22 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Parapan American Games will welcome 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, who will participate in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. Competitions will take place from August 23 to September 1, 2019. Thirteen sports will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Photo gallery (click here)

On July 17, Bagua Grande city will receive the Pan American torch, on its fourteenth day of relay across Peru. This will be the torch's final destination in the Peruvian Jungle. 

A total of 33 torchbearers will participate of 6.6 km torch relay. The route starts at the San Luis stadium and finishes at Plaza de Armas. 

Among the torchbearers will be Margarito Machacuay Valera, famous for being one of the tallest person in Peru, and Fredy Oc Reyes, weightlifting national champion in Chiclayo and Lima, who also participated in various national and international competitions. 

Bagua Grande is the fourteenth city on the road to Lima, where the Pan American and Parapan American Games will take place on 26 July. 

As part of the preparations to welcome the athletes participating in the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games, to be held between July 26 and September 1, Lima Airport Partners (LAP), along with the main entities of the Jorge Chávez International Airport, have carried out different simulations, with the purpose of fine-tuning the flow of all delegations that enter and leave the airport.

In that sense, LAP has determined the following actions to provide Lima 2019 delegations and team the right level of service:

• Special flow assignment in the terminal for more than 10,000 athletes and technical officials; tanking into consideration that nearly 800 athletes are wheelchair users.
• Incorporation of additional personnel, such as airport guides and volunteers, who will guide and provide useful information.
• Development of an APP to improve athletes and passengers’ assistance during their stay in the terminal. This app has also a special module designed to guide people with visual impairment, thanks to Wayfinding technology.
• Conditioning of special areas at the international baggage claim hall to ease the delivery of belongings to athletes and Games staff.
• Implementation of a remote check-in for athletes and their belongings with a period of 24 to 48 hours in advance; after which, the different airlines will manage the baggage transfer so that they are loaded in their respective flights.

Pamela Moreno, the Lima Airport Partners operations manager, mentioned that “Jorge Chávez International Airport will be the first host of the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games; therefore, it has been crucial to be in constant coordination with the Games Organization to provide the necessary assistance for an event of such importance. We have developed a plan along with the main airport entities to give a better travel experience for all athletes and visitors that will come in the following days.”

Additionally, Alberto Valenzuela, Lima 2019 operations manager, said that “in an unprecedented event, Peru will welcome about 10,000 athletes and technical officials for the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games. Therefore, we have worked together with LAP to receive the delegations with an Olympic-level service, as the best athletes and Para athletes in the continent deserve.  We will be the best hosts.”

It should be mentioned that simulations were carried out with the cooperation of all involved areas to ensure proper operations of the expected flow and identify improvement opportunities to deliver a great experience for all athletes and visitors.

Since his family moved from Cajamarca to the Huanchaco Beach, Trujillo, his life has always been connected to the sea. When he was 7 years old, Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente tried to defy the tidal with his “Caballito de totora”.

Now he is 37 and, despite being a legend at the World Longboard Championship circuit, he dreams of claiming the gold at the Pan American Games. The Lima 2019 Ambassador has always wanted to play at home with the support of his people.

What does Lima 2019 mean to a three-time world champion?

The Pan American Games mean a lot to me because I worked really hard to qualify for the longboard category. I had to be in a good condition to compete at several world championships, and I was able to secure a quota place at the last qualifier, the ISA World Surfing Games. It would be amazing to represent my country and even more so if I could win the gold medal.

How important is the connection that you have with the Punta Rocas Beach?

Punta Rocas is a historical beach for surfers because of all the titles we’ve won there. It never changes, and its waves are always great. We’ll only be able to get an idea of the sea conditions as of July 20, but the advantage is that we know this beach.

Do you think playing at home gives you an advantage?

Well, it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy for us. Among the surfers competing at Lima 2019, there are South American, Pan American and even world champions, so the competition is going to be tough.

How did you feel after receiving the new surfing sport center?

I was really glad to see the new High-performance Center. It’s a great legacy for Peruvian surfing. The infrastructure is fantastic, and it’ll help us discover new talents. I can already see those stands full of Peruvians supporting us during the competition that will take place in 15 days.

What are the advantages of this sports center when compared to others?

I know this will be the best sports center in our continent. I’ve seen the infrastructure in other countries, such as Australia and France, but ours has nothing to envy to those facilities. I’m sure every sport center built for Lima 2019 will help us in the future.

How can Lima 2019 help Peru?

I believe that sports will increase a lot after Lima 2019. We’ll have new representatives and of course new world champions. We need them, so the Peruvian sport can grow sustainably.

Peruvians will be rooting for you in Punta Rocas.

They’ve always been rooting for us, and I’m forever grateful for their support. The 10 members of the Peruvian team hope people can come to see us during the competitions because the performance level will be really high. Seeing people with Peruvian flags supporting us from the stands is a huge motivation.

The Punta Rocas beach has been home to Peruvian surfing since Felipe Pomar claimed the World Surfing Champion title in 1965 for the first time. The Pan American Games will not be an exception. That is why the tickets for the final session scheduled for August 3 are already sold out, but there are still some tickets left for the previous stage at www.lima2019.pe/tickets and the 10 Teleticket authorized points of sale.

THE STARS OF LIMA 2019

The participation of five world surfing champions has already been confirmed by the International Surfing Association. The Lima 2019 Ambassador Benoit “Piccolo” Clemente will be Peru’s ace in longboard. Another names on the list are the Argentinian Santiago Muñiz, gold medalist at the World Surfing Games 2018, and the Puerto Rican Tia Blanco, two-time gold medalist at the ISA World Surfing Games.

 The four-time SUP racing champion, Candice Appleby, will also compete in Lima, along with Brazil’s Luiz Diniz who has claimed the SUP surfing title two times in a row.

Also, María Fernanda Reyes will participate in longboard representing Peru. Lucca Mesinas, Alonso Correa, Daniela Rosas, and Melanie Giunta will take part in the open surfing event, a qualifying competition for Tokyo 2020. Besides, Tamil Martino and Vanie Torres will compete in SUP surfing. Meanwhile, Itzel Delgado and Giannisa Vecco will compete for a spot on the podium in SUP racing, which is one of the most challenging competitions.

SURFING AT LIMA 2019

The disciplines of open surfing, longboard, SUP racing, and SUP surfing are included in the Pan American Games sport program. The competitions will be governed by the rules of the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the Pan American Surf Association (PASA) and will be held from July 29 to August 4 at the Punta Rocas Beach.

The event will take place in heats, with a double elimination format. Athletes will face each other in a first, second and third round, until they reach the finals. The number of participants in each heat can vary from two athletes to three or four. In a two-surfer heat, first place will advance in the event. In a three- or four-surfer heat, the first two will advance in the event.

Tarapoto. The Pan American Torch visited Tarapoto's three main districts, surrounded by joy, high expectations, typical dances and dancing in the streets. The Pan American Flame started its journey on July 4, when the first torch was lit in Machu Picchu, Cusco.

All 144 torchbearers that carried the torch this day have a special trait: they all connect the past of their birth places with the joy of the present, with an unbreakable motivation during the 26 km route that lasted eight hours across La Banda de Shilcayo, Morales and Tarapoto districts.

But this is not the only event that will mark the first Pan American Torch relay in Peru. It was also the first of 14 cities where torchbearers with an impairment were included. One of them is 19-year-old Naomi Rengifo Rodríguez.

The visual artist Boris Quintero Viena, the President of Asociación Manos Unidas Myrian Pinchi Dassa, who has been working in social assistance for 16 years, and the teacher from the Instituto Especial 0002 in Moyobamba, Luz Marina Vela, also attended the event. 

The celebration ended with the lightning of cauldron and the speech of local authorities from San Martin.

For the first time in the Pan American Flame route across Peru, people with an impairment raised the torch to illuminate us all. Six people participated and became a part of the history of the first Pan American and Parapan American Games held in Peru. 

Tarapoto welcomed the Lima 2019 Games Flame in a very unique way. First, the relay covered a distance of 26 km, the longest to date. There were a 144 torchbearers in total, including qualified athletes, authorities and citizens that do social work. Their stories are worthy of praise. For example, the story of Jorge Coriat, who created a non-profit football school to help children stay on a good path and, as he said, train the successors of Tarapoto native, Miguel Trauco. 

School teacher and second torchbearer, Irma Sangama, also has a life story worth knowing. She had an unfortunate accident while traveling in a mototaxi two years ago that left her in a wheelchair and ended her days of amateur basketball. However, Irma fought against adversity. She had five hip and leg surgeries and is now an example of perseverance to hundreds of students who praise their teacher’s recovery. 

Each torchbearer has a story that makes them worthy of carrying the torch and illuminating Peru, but what was seen in Tarapoto was more than just a beam of light. When Naomi Rengifo, a 19-year-old with an impairment, raised the torch, the flame shone brighter than the sun in her hand. “I’m an athlete, but I also know how to pose,” Naomi said charmingly, next to principal Teodosia Alegría of the Centro Educación Especial 0001 in Tarapoto.

The principal’s dreams came true as six of her students participated in the torch relay of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Samy Navarro, Temístocles Alegría, Stefano Arévalo, Carlos Manuel Flores, Alessandro Rospigliosi and Naomi Rengifo, who all have an impairment, had the chance to raise the Pan American Torch and be cheered on by those in the Main Square while they danced to songs from the Peruvian jungle, just minutes before the cauldron was lit. 

To add even more joy to the Pan American celebration in Tarapoto, the last torchbearer was Luz Vela Marina, the principal of the Centro de Educación Especial 0002 of Moyobamba. Luz has 44 students and some of them traveled two hours to Tarapoto to hug their principal while she lit the cauldron. In the end, the teenagers with an impairment of the Tarapoto and Moyobamba schools were happy to have played such an important role in this story that began with the arrival of the Pan American Flame.

Photo gallery (click here)

Seven days away from the Pan American Games, the beach volleyball stadium and the speed skating track of the Costa Verde – San Miguel venue were officially delivered to their respective national federations. Everything is now ready for the multi-sport celebration to start.

COPAL president, Carlos Neuhaus, accompanied the mayor of San Miguel, Juan José Guevara; the head of the Peruvian Skating Federation, Manuel Veaizan; and Peruvian Volleyball Federation representative, Ronald Herrera, to tour the facilities. The respective agreements were then signed.

“We are encouraging sports in youth with this legacy, which will remain for future generations. The stages are 100% complete and ready to welcome all delegations and prove that we are good hosts. I am so relieved that we have fulfilled this mission,” said Neuhaus.

The infrastructure in Costa Verde is already available to Peruvian team members to complement their training for the largest multi-sport event in the Americas. Beach volleyball will be the first sport to be contested on July 24, with the match between the Canadian and Nicaraguan women’s teams.

“We are happy that Lima 2019 has realized a dream after more than five years. We had many setbacks and difficulties since we did not have a sports facility with the necessary conditions to carry out the speed skating race. Although we have excellent athletes, we had to wait until Sunday to use a bike lane. Now we will start managing our future,” said Veaizan.

COSTA VERDE SAN MIGUEL VENUE

The venue of the district of San Miguel is a partially accessible space with trails, ramps, accessible toilets and seats for athletes and spectators. The capacity in each stage is as follows: BMX circuit (3000 spectators), main beach volleyball stadium (3000 spectators), speed skating track (1000 spectators) and BMX freestyle track (2500 spectators).

Speed skating will be held on August 9 and 10, with the participation of the 40 best skaters in the Americas. Both the women’s and men’s 300 meter individual time trial, 500 meter + distance and 10,000 meter elimination events will be disputed. Bernardo Timothy and Ronaldo Camacho, who participated in the World Rollers Games, are the sole Peruvian representatives debuting at the Pan American Games.

The beach volleyball competition will take place from July 24 to 30, on the two courts in San Miguel. The top 32 duos in the continent will participate in this competition. The system consists of a preliminary round (in a round-robin format and four pools of four teams each), quarterfinals, semifinals, finals and qualifying rounds from fifth to sixteen place.

Alexandra Mendoza and Lisbeth Allca will represent Peru—first place in the U20 South American ranking and fifth place at the 2019 World Beach Volleyball Championships—and will have their first match against El Salvador. Meanwhile, Bruno Seminario and Gabriel Vásquez will be the men’s duo that debuts against the Dominican Republic.

ABOUT LIMA 2019

The Opening Ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will be held at the National Stadium on July 26, 2019. This continental event will gather 6648 athletes from 41 countries and delegations from the Americas.

There will be 19 days of competitions and ceremonies, between July 24 and August 11, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues like VIDENA, Villa María Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.

The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 61 disciplines, in which athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 21 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Photo gallery (click here)

John Trebejo is one of the best karatekas in the kata discipline. With more than 20 years of experience, he has represented Peru in World, Pan American, Bolivarian and South American Championships.

His latest achievement was at the Series A tournament, held in Montreal, Canada, where he won the silver medal together with Carlos Lam and Oliver del Castillo.

He is now focusing on the Pan American Games.  “We’re training harder each day and, during these four weeks, we’re working double time to do our best in the competition,” said John.  

Teamwork

John, Carlos and Oliver have been competing together for some time. It takes a lot of work and effort to be 100% in sync.

“We continue to learn every day. We’ve had some difficult months that we were able to overcome, nut now we’re united and focused on the same goal,” said Trebejo.

His goal is to win the gold medal, the ultimate prize for any athlete. “That’s our goal. It’s quite a challenge, but we’re ready. We need to achieve this goal,” said the karateka who considers Argentina, Colombia and Brazil as his direct rivals.

Kata competitions are decided by points, just like gymnastics. It is important to note that it does not entail a fight, it is an imaginary fight that must be synchronized and contain techniques that make the difference.  

Karate will be held at Villa El Salvador Sports Center. For John, competing on a new stage and in his home country is a unique motivation. “I’ve only seen the sports center in photos, but I know that the atmosphere we’re going to experience and the dream of signing the national anthem will be indescribable,” he said.  

The kata competition will be held on August 9. Ticket sales can be purchased at www.lima2019.pe/tickets or authorized points of sale throughout the city.

The Pan American and Parapan American village, which will be the heart of the Games as it will accommodate over 9000 athletes and Para athletes during the Lima 2019 Games, has now a mayor. Former athlete Giorgio Mautino was appointed to be the host to the 41 delegations that will take part in the multi-sport celebration starting next week.

Mautino, who was working as a sports advisor in the Operations Department, will welcome the committees in a special ceremony that will start on Tuesday 23 at 10:00, starting with the Peruvian delegation with around 600 athletes.

“Without any doubt, this will be an important role because our main objective is to make our guests feel at home and give them the best impression of our people, our city and our country,” he said.

After attending a tour and a presentation of the modern speed skating rink in San Miguel, Mautino went to Villa El Salvador to supervise the village and its 1096 apartments. He toured around different areas of the Pan American and Parapan American village, such as the cafeteria and the international zone, where various services will be provided to athletes and their guests.