Lima 2019 witnessed the first time the triathlon mixed relay competition has ever taken place at the Pan American Games. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia. Cuba, Ecuador, United States, Mexico and Peru representatives gathered at Agua Dulce Beach (Chorrillos) to start the circuit with the swimming leg.  

Women were in charge of the first relay. People started arriving at Costa Verde at 7:00 and gave non-stop encouragement to the competitors as they entered the cold sea. Four minutes later, Brazilian Lusia Baptista rushed out of the water to continue with the cycling leg. Ada Bravo started the circuit for the Peruvian team. 

The pack of athletes left the Costa Verde with their bicycles and headed up to Malecón Grau, up Tenderini exit, toward Avenida Huaylas to complete the 6.6-kilometer course and then finish the 1.5-kilometer course of the running leg between Los Pavos beach and Agua Dulce beach. 

Each of the four members of the teams, made up of two women and two men, followed the same circuit. 

Eventually, Brazil was the winner of the triathlon mixed relay. The Brazilian team was made up of Lusia Baptisa, Kaue Willy, Vittoria Lopes and Manoel Messias, who completed the circuit with a time of 1:20.34. Canada finished second with 1:20.51, while Mexico reached the third place in a time of 1:20.57. 

The Peruvian team, made up of Ada and Rodrigo Bravo, Blanca Kometter and José Gómez, completed the circuit in a time of 1:31.36.  

The triathlon mixed relay stood out for its flawless organization. The Peruvian National Police started the street closure plan on July 28 at 23:00, ending on July 29 at 12:15 as planned. Around 100 police officers supervised the route and the street closure during the event. 

Meanwhile, Lima 2019 volunteers were in charge of guiding the hundreds of spectators gathered at the esplanade and the streets where the 40 athletes competed. In a nutshell, everything went as planned. 

Photo gallery (click here) 

Dozens of people experienced the triathlon events for the first time on the Chorrillos esplanade and its surroundings. They watched this challenging sports discipline today as part of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. The Brazil and Mexico athletes won gold medals in the men’s and women’s events, respectively.

The competitions took place in the Costa Verde beach circuit, between Barranco and Chorrillos. The women’s and men's categories started at 10:00 and 13:00, respectively. Triathlon comprises three sport disciplines:1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride, and 10 km run.

The spectators cheered the athletes on with great enthusiasm. They also respected pedestrian and vehicular access, which was restricted in several areas. Peruvian and foreign fans, wearing colors of the flags of the Americas, cheered on and gave their fellow nationals a big round of applause as they passed through the streets. Children, young people, seniors and families all gathered at Agua Dulce Beach.

The winners in the women’s event were the gold medalist Luisa Baptista and the silver medalist Vittoria Lopes, both from Brazil. As for the Mexican Cecilia Perez, she earned the bronze medal. The Peruvian athlete Ada Bravo placed twentieth, while Blanca Kometter, also from Peru, left the competition.

In the men’s event, the Mexican Crisanto Grajales and the Brazilian Manoel Messias received the gold and silver medals, respectively. The bronze medal was awarded to the Argentinian Luciano Taccone. Peruvians Rodrigo Bravo and José Gómez de la Torre finished 23rd and 24th, respectively.

The swimming part was held at Agua Dulce Beach in Chorrillos. They swam two 350-meter laps offshore, 50 meters parallel to the shore and 350 meters to return. Then, the 40-kilometer cycling competition began. Triathletes rode six laps starting from Agua Dulce Beach until Huaylas Avenue, heading to the Malecón Grau, where they made a “U” turn, in anti-clockwise direction, to go towards the curve of Los Pavos Beach

Competitors will test their endurance on July 29 in the relay event starting at 09:00.

About Lima 2019

The Opening Ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games was held at the National Stadium on July 26, 2019. This continental event will gather over 6680 athletes from 41 countries 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 the National Sports Village (VIDENA), Villa Maria Sports Center, Callao Regional Sports 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.

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. Additionally, 13 Para sports will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Artistic skating is one of the disciplines that has created a lot of expectations in world multi-sports events and the Lima 2019 Pan American Games were not the exception. After two days of competition, the best 16 roller skaters of the Americas showed their art at the spectacular skating rink of Sports Center 3 of VIDENA, and spectators showed their love with standing ovations.

The Brazilian Bruna Wurts won the gold in women’s category, beating Giselle Soler from Argentina and Eduarda Fuentes from Ecuador. On the other hand, Juan Sánchez from Argentina defeated John Burchield from USA and Gustavo Casado from Brazil on his way to the gold.

The stands vibrated with the skaters’ performances. Most of them are placed in the top 10 of the world ranking. Entire families cheered for the routines accompanied by classic and modern music and athletes gave their best, to win the applause of Peruvian fans.

It is worth mentioning the spectacular skating rink, praised by competitors, trainers and spectators. “It has been an impressive event, not only because of the athletes’ high competition level, but also because of the spectators respect and the surface amazing conditions. I take good memories with me,” said the Pan American champion Juan Sánchez.