Lima 2019 will leave many stories and will let us witness many sporting achievements. However, a question is still to be answered: after the end of the Parapan American Games Closing Ceremony , will our city be the same? Definitely not!
If you have an adventurous personality and love to live to the fullest, you can't miss these three sports that will be present in Lima 2019.
Canoe is a quite popular aquatic sport which is practiced all over the world. However, the most popular versions of this sport are slalom and extreme slalom.
With just a month to go until the Pan American Games Opening Ceremony, find out here about the five sport disciplines with the best athletes of the Americas that will be held outdoors and will be free of charge.
They are: marathon, race walk, triathlon, road cycling, Para cycling road and mountain bike. These sports will be held in the districts of Chorrillos, Barranco, Miraflores, San Isidro, Magdalena, San Miguel and Cercado de Lima.
Marathon, in which outstanding Peruvian athletes such as Inés Melchor and Gladys Tejeda will participate, will take place on July 27 at 08:30. The starting line and finish line will be at Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. Triathlon will be held on the same day starting at 10:00 between Agua Dulce and Los Pavos beaches, located in the districts of Chorrillos and Barranco, respectively. The relay events will be held two days after, on July 29, at 09:00 at the same circuit.
As for race walk, it will be held at Av. Larco, in Miraflores. The 20km women’s event will be held on August 4 at 08:00, while the men’s event will take place at 10:30. The 50km event will be held on August 11 at 07:00 for both categories. This discipline will have the participation of Peruvian athletes, such as Evelyn Inga and Kimberly García, both qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games thanks to the Pan American Race Walking Cup, held in Mexico, last April.
Cycling fans will be able to watch the competitions of the following disciplines: road cycling, Para cycling road and mountain bike. As for road cycling, the time trial event will take place on August 7, while the individual road race will be on August 10. Both will be held in the Costa Verde beach circuit. Para cycling road will be held on August 30 and September 1, with the time trial and individual road race events.
It should be noted that Israel Hiralio, Para cyclist and Lima 2019 Ambassador, will participate in this competition.
Finally, mountain bike will be held on July 28 at Morro Solar in Chorrillos, the competition schedule for women’s will be at 09:00 and for men’s at 11:30.
Recommendations
The Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games Organizing Committee has some recommendations for the spectators that will attend the competitions to cheer on the athletes:
It should be noted that during the competition days, some avenues will be closed to facilitate athletes’ transportation and spectators’ access. Therefore, we urge the citizens to be tolerant with the implications of the event.
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 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 gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. Competitions will take place from August 23 to September 1, 2019. Thirteen Para sports will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The Peru-Italia 7095 school is located just a few blocks away from the Villa El Salvador Sports Center. The students of this school already know that the Pan American and Parapan American sports competitions will take place in this new facility on July 26 and that is why they are ready for the Lima 2019 Games.
“Our students are very excited and we are carrying out several activities such as story-writing, led by the students. They’ve realized that the Lima 2019 Games have made a change in their district and they’re fascinated,” said Maria Isabel Sulca, a teacher at the school.
These activities help the children discover new sports such as “swimming or cycling, because there’s a difference between learning about a sport, and feeling motivated and practicing it,” noted the teacher.
During this visit, students had the opportunity to meet Milco, the official mascot of the Games, and participate in the socio-cultural program prepared by Lima 2019 to promote Olympic and Paralympic values through sports.
“This is a very interesting and educational activity, and it successfully passed the messages along to the students, because an athlete is disciplined, respectful and punctual; that is, they have many values that will be useful throughout their lives. Therefore, sports are closely related to values, and that’s what we need to encourage,” pointed out James Meza, school principal.
Thirty-one days away from the Pan American Games, motivation starts to play an important role for students who play football, handball and volleyball, as well as practice athletics and gymnastics.
“We are very motivated because, first, Lima is hosting and, second, because the Pan American Village and many sports are nearby. We feel very lucky, because we will be able to see well-known athletes, as well as learn about countless sports that can be very useful for their personal and social development,” concluded the principal.
The Villa El Salvador Sports Center will house gymnastics, which will take place from July 27 to August 5, and karate, from August 9 to 11.
Sodexo Peru is the official food services provider for the more than 10 thousand athletes competing in the Lima 2019 Games. They will be located in the Pan American and Parapan American Village, as well as at the Peruvian Naval Academy Village. They will serve, in total, over 800 thousand food rations during the Games.
The level of service for athlete meals aims to provide safe food with the highest standards of quality and health, thus ensuring an efficient operation.
Additionally, companies Aramburú and Gate Gourmet will be in charge of food services at the satellite villages and the competition and training venues, respectively. Sodexo will serve 373,322 food rations in the Pan American and Parapan American Village. While Gate Gourmet will serve 378,869 and Aramburú 53,058 (satellite villages) and 14,220 food rations (ceremonies).
To announce it, an agreement was signed and there was an official presentation of the menu and the Peruvian food that will be provided during the most important sports event of the continent. Carlos Neuhaus, president of the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee; Alberto Valenzuela, Lima 2019 Operations manager; Juan Antonio Silva, Lima 2019 Communications, Commercial and Marketing manager; Alfonso de los Heros, Sodexo Peru country president; and Edgardo Oliva, Sodexo Corporate Services Segment CEO were present at this event.
“Peru is a gastronomic power and we are going to prove it. However, on behalf of Lima 2019, I must mention the importance of having strategic partners that will support the high expectations we have at all levels of the service we will be providing for the athletes. Lima will not only be the epicenter of sports in America but, with strategic allies like Sodexo, will attract international attention,” assured Valenzuela.
De los Heros reconfirmed Sodexo’s commitment to excellence with the service it will provide during Lima 2019.
“Let there be no doubt that we will do our best for the country at these Games. This is a historic and extraordinary event that must unite Peruvians. It will truly show the best of all of us and all we can offer in terms of gastronomy and service. We are going to make Peru proud.”
Furthermore, Oliva provided some impressive data regarding the massive dimensions and logistical challenge of such an event. For example, the kitchen and dining hall of the Pan American and Parapan American Village will be the size of a football stadium and a half.
“We will reach peaks of 24 thousand food rations a day. Logistically, it’s quite a challenge. Some fun facts: the amount of mozzarella cheese that will be used will equal the size and weight of four Volkswagen beetles. Furthermore, the amount of spaghetti could cover the distance between Lima and Machu Picchu, there and back. The weight of all the rice we will use will be equal to the weight of the 200 workers who will be in the kitchen. And, if we consider that a hen lays one egg a day, we would need 1264 years for all the eggs that will be used during those 55 days.”
Sodexo is internationally recognized as the leading company in providing high-quality services for major sports events, such as the Dakar Rally, Tour de France, Roland Garros, etc. This company was also in charge of providing food and beverage services at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, as well as the London 2012 Olympics.
They will provide the following services for Lima 2019: food, beverages and ice. Food service will be for athletes and officials, as well as Games Family, judges, referees, workforce, volunteers, and local and international press.
In total, Sodexo will serve more than 6212 athletes and officials, as well as 1875 volunteers during the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. During the Parapan American Games, it will serve 2954 athletes. For this reason, the company will allocate a team of 300 highly trained professionals who will offer the highest quality full-time service.
Sodexo will offer an international menu, but it will focus on promoting Peruvian gastronomy. To do so, it will work for hand in hand with local suppliers and the outstanding chef Aldo Cardini, recognized Peruvian food specialist.
During the Games, the menu items will be displayed daily in a visible place. The dining hall will have six different schedules every day. Some of the typical dishes offered will be papa rellena, ceviche, tamales, lomo saltado, ají de gallina, arroz con leche, mazamorra, etc.
There will be a food option called “Lima, a fusion of flavors and emotions” comprising four different stations: “Lima Culinary Tour” (typical Peruvian dishes), “Pizza and Pasta Street” (pasta and pizza), “Downtown Grill” (typical American food) and “Inka Bio Market” (variety of fruits and vegetables).
Since we will be welcoming top-level athletes, our mission is to serve safe food, with the highest standards of quality and health to ensure their best professional performance.
For this reason, alcohol, coca tea, maca, or any other natural energizing food will not be used in meal preparations. Infusions will be provided in sealed packages to avoid any manipulation or intentional contamination. Sodexo is also analyzing the quality of the beef that they will use to prepare meals, to verify its anabolic steroid content.
The aim is to identify, mitigate and monitor potential sources of intentional food contamination. There will be food safety contingency plans and a procedure for responding to suspected foodborne illness.
Meanwhile, we will try to reduce the negative impact on the environment by using more than three million biodegradable and compostable paper pulp items.
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 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, 2019, 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 gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating 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.
Peruvian Volleyball once again faces a great international challenge with the participation of the women’s team in the Challenger Cup, a qualifying tournament for the most important event organized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB): the “2020 Nations League”. The team lead by “Paco” Hervás starts the final stretch of their preparation for Lima 2019.
Peru’s debut in Group A will be against Croatia tomorrow at 20:00, at the Manuel Bonilla Coliseum in Miraflores, while the second match will be against Czech Republic on Friday, at the same time. The first two teams in this Group will pass to the semifinals and will compete against the teams qualified in Group B, formed by Argentina, Canada and Chinese Taipei.
Unlike women’s European teams, who are at a good pace after participating in the Golden League a few days ago, the Peruvian team finished an intense training phase at the Callao Sports Center. Hervás has only trained with the whole team for the past two weeks. However, he will try to level up his team with the technical strengths they applied during the training sessions.
“We will face teams that mark a physical difference in attacking and blocking, but we have the resources to counter those strengths. We don’t often compete against teams at the level of the countries participating in this tournament, so this will give us an idea on what to improve for the Pan American Games,” said the coach.
Hitter Ángela Leyva assured that they will give their best performance. “Our plus is that we’ve known each other for a long time, and even if we face renowned opponents, we will counter them with our strengths. This tournament will serve to boost the team’s performance in every way,” she said.
VOLLEYBALL IN LIMA 2019
The volleyball matches at the Pan American Games will be governed by the rules of the International Volleyball Federation. The men’s competition will begin on July 31 and end on August 4, while the women’s competition will be held between August 7 and 11. The venue for the volleyball competitions will be the Callao Sports Center, with a capacity of 6100 spectators.
Women’s national volleyball team is in pool A along with Canada, Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Meanwhile, USA, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Argentina are in pool B. Men’s national team will play against Argentina, Cuba, and Puerto Rico in pool A, while Brazil, Mexico, Chile and USA will be in pool B.
The competition format includes a round-robin preliminary round for the two four-team pools (A and B). The first two teams of each group will qualify to the semifinals. The two winners of the semifinal will qualify to the final match for the gold medal. The third-place teams of each group will compete for the fifth and sixth place in the qualifying round.
Students from the Institución Educativa 7216 Villa de Jesús located in Villa El Salvador participated in the “Soy Lima 2019” campaign with Lima-related slogans and dressed in red and white.
Primary school students started their previously prepared workout routine as part of the 10 minutes of physical activity promoted by the Ministry of Education. Milco, the official mascot of the Games, also attended the activity in which all students participated.
Afterwards, two primary school students performed a Gymnastics exhibition, one of the sports to be held in Villa El Salvador.
Later, a sociocultural activity supporting Olympic and Paralympic values was presented to promote sports.
“It’s important that school-age kids discover values through sports because they should be practiced in daily life,” stated María Escate, schoolteacher.
She also said that “you need to pay attention and concentrate in order to practice any sport and that also improves learning.”
Diego Palacios, Physical Education teacher, said that football, futsal and handball are also practiced at the school. He also mentioned that the Pan American and Parapan American Games will leave an infrastructure legacy but will also help promote sports. “We will be able to watch competitions and talents from other countries thanks to the Games. That will allow us to know more about other sports,” he said.
It should be noted that karate events will be held at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center; kata will take place on August 9, and kumite on August 10 and 11. Gymnastics events will start with artistic gymnastics from July 27 to 31. Followed by rhythmic gymnastics from August 2 to 5 and trampoline events, which will take place from August 4 to 5.
