Although the sports competition result was not the best, Peruvian Para swimmer Juan Leónleft with a feeling of contentment. Juancito’s main goal in his first-ever participation in the Parapan American Games was to improve his record in 400m freestyle, S7 class, and he managed to do it.

León had prepared for this moment since two years ago. He was excited to see the grandstands full of spectators, including some of his relatives and neighbors. This motivated him to achieve a record of 6:15:22. His effort paid off with the rapturous applause by those present in the VIDENA Aquatics Center.

“It is not easy to improve my personal record by 23 seconds. It takes more time to achieve this goal. Thanks to my demanding training by my coach Fernando Cuadros, I expect to get a better record so that I can earn a quota place at Tokyo 2020. I am going to push myself to the limit in order to keep representing my country in international competitions,” said León. Juancito León expected to get a medal at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games. 

The Para swimmer had never competed in a similar event before. This is why he believes that this event will be a turning point in his sporting career.

“The support of all these people moved me. The ovation that I received from people, before and after the event, is an image that my family and I will treasure forever. I also saw some neighbors from my Ventanilla neighborhoods, but I had to stay focused. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart,” 'Juancito' said.

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. 

With the cheers of his fellow Peruvian Army members, who filled one of the grandstands of the VIDENA Athletics Stadium, the Peruvian Para athlete, Carlos Felipa, gave the country a new joy by winning a new medal on the fourth day of competitions of the Parapan American Games, which are being held for the first time in Peru.

Felipa—a courageous member of the Peruvian Army who fought terrorism—reached the second place in the shot put event in category F63 (Para athletes with a physical impairment and competing with prosthetics), with a distance of 10.71 m. This was enough for him to win the silver medal, as he obtained a higher record than Colombian Humberto Armella, who did not reach the podium.

The winner was Brazilian Mauro de Souza, who did a 13-meter-long throw, with which he established a new Parapan American record, beating the one set by Matthew Brown (11.83 m) on August 13, 2007, at the Rio Parapan American Games.

If we add this medal to the ones earned by Luis Sandoval in Para athletics (silver), Jorge Arcela in shooting Para sport (silver), and Fred Villalobos in judo (bronze), Peru has a total of four medals.

TICKETS ON SALE

To see these outstanding Para athletes at the Parapan American Games, you may purchase your tickets starting at PEN 10. In addition, there is a 50% discount for children under 18, senior citizens and people with an impairment. Tickets can be purchased in the Lima 2019 ticket offices located at VIDENA (gate 1 and gate 10) and at the 11 authorized points of sale in Lima.

Tickets can be also purchased online through lima2019.pe/tickets, where you will also find the detailed competition schedule. 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.

Galería de fotos (clic aquí)

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).

Goalball competitions opened with a hard-fought South American classic match between Argentinian and Brazilian men’s teams for the qualifying round of Group A.

This version of the “classic match of the Atlantic” dazzled the spectators who gathered at the Miguel Grau Coliseum in Callao. In this regard, people on the grandstands tirelessly cheered on the Para athletes, who despite they were wearing eyeshades, showcased precision both in attacking and defensive move.

The score was favorable to the “carioca” team after thrashing Argentina 9-2. The Brazilians entered the field determined to win, and they winded up the match in the first half. However, their opponent managed to score two goals in the second half.

The scorer of the match was the Brazilian Josemarcio Sousa, with 4 goals; however, his teammate Leomon Moreno Da Silva stood out for being a key solid defender against the Argentinian team.

Moreno Da Silva, who has been named the world’s greatest goalball player, expressed his gratitude to Lima 2019 for offering a suitable infrastructure to practice this Para sport, as well as for contributing to its promotion and positioning at a continental level.
 

“I am very happy to be able to recognize that in Peru they have made every effort to host a Para sports event that exceeds our expectations, not only for the venues, but also for the hospitality and cheers of the people. That fills me with emotion, and enable my professional and moral growth,” he said effusively.

On the other hand, the goalball player Fernando Rodríguez, who scored the goal for the Argentinian team, pointed out that, due to the ovation and cheers from the Lima fans, he felt as if they were playing as a home team.

“The support of the crowd was amazing and unforgettable; it will remain engraved on my heart. Those words of encouragement that go beyond nationality make us stronger as Para athletes,” he concluded with enthusiasm.

This is how the men’s goalball opening competitions took place, with a great South American classic match, in an atmosphere of brotherhood, where the fans in Lima claim the slogan Let’s All Play!

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.

As a sign that the best athletes of the Americas and even the world are in our country, a new world record was established during the Para athletics competitions at the new Athletics Stadium VIDENA.

In the shot put F46 category (athletes with a physical impairment in the upper limbs), the American Joshua Cinnamo set a new world record of 16m49cm. This way, he won the gold medal in the competition and surpassed his previous mark of 15m98cm in Chula Vista, California, on May 28, 2017.

TICKETS ON SALE

To see these outstanding Para athletes participating in the Parapan American Games, you can purchase tickets ranging from PEN 10. There is a 50% discount for children under 18, senior citizens and people with an impairment. Tickets can be bought at the VIDENA ticket offices (Gates 1 and 10) and the 11 authorized points of sale around Lima.

Tickets can be also purchased online through lima2019.pe/tickets, where you will also find the 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 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.