Within approximately 30 minutes of the match, the Para table tennis player from Chile defeated Colombian Nelly Sánchez in three consecutive sets, thus receiving the first gold medal of Lima 2019 and directly qualifying for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

“This is an honor for me. I dreamed of it so many times... Winning a medal here and qualifying for Tokyo 2020 is a dream come true. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so excited. I’m overjoyed,” said the champion.

Leonelli, fifteenth in the world ranking of this sport, who won the bronze medal at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, competed in Para table tennis class 5 (wheelchair, with regular torso muscle functions). Tomorrow, she will receive the first Parapan American Games medal.

“It’s wonderful. It’s never happened to me before and I hope it gives all the other athletes an extra boost, motivates them and lets them know that it really is possible. I’m so proud to have won the first medal of the Games for Chile.”

The result in each set against the Colombian player was 11-7, 11-3 and 12-10, with advantage for Tamara who, in previous rounds, faced off with the Brazilian and Argentinian representatives who also lost to her, 3-0 and 3-2, respectively.

“I think it’s been a very tough competition, obviously the level of the championship makes it even more difficult. But I’m just the visible face of everyone's effort. No one imagines how many people are helping behind the scenes. No only behind this stage, also life’s stage.”

Team Chile present on the podium

Cristian González from Chile has also secured another medal for his country in men’s class 4 by defeating El Salvador’s Gabriel Espinoza 3-0 and Brazilian Ecildo Oliveira 3-1, ensuring his spot in the semifinals. The gold medal may be around the corner: the final will be played tomorrow.

“I think that, broadly speaking, we’ve been improving a lot as a team. Chile is establishing itself in American Para table tennis, as well as European. We all try to win and show that we can do it because we have a good level of competition; the Americas in general does,” said Leonelli.

In the Parapan American Games, a total of 617 gold medals and silver medals will be awarded, in addition to 679 bronze medals, making it a total of 1913 to be distributed during this international event.

Para table tennis is being held at Sports Center 3 of the National Sports Village (VIDENA) and will end on August 27.

The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, stated that, regarding its organization, the Lima 2019 Pan American Games set the bar high for the next Games that will take place in Santiago in 2023. However, he is confident that Chile can surpass it. 

“I want to congratulate Peru, because they have organized a great Pan American Games. They have set the bar high, but I want to tell my compatriots that we are going to surpass it,” said the Chilean president during his visit to the VIDENA, where he attended the athletics competitions. 

Piñera noted that the challenge for Chile, after the high bar set by Peru, is to collect the experience of the most important sports event in the continent. President of Chile arrived in Peru to be part of the Lima 2019 celebration.  

“I was able to see the sports venues, the organization, the mystic and the enthusiasm, and that is something we have to learn from Lima, so that we can organize unforgettable Pan American Games in Santiago for all Chileans,” he expressed. 

The President of Chile said that he will soon meet with the President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, and that he has already held meetings with the companies that participated in the organization of the Games to learn and collect the experience. 

He pointed out that, in Chile, they have a really good sports infrastructure and that based on that, they will make the necessary investment to organize the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. 

Piñera asserted that Peru made a significant investment for the organization of the Pan American Games and also for the legacy. “In Chile, we are going to make most of the investment made for the South American Games (Santiago 2014) and we are only going to add the strictly necessary to organize a great version of the Pan American Games,” he stressed. 

The President of Chile made these statements after he personally congratulated his country’s athletes, gold and silver medalists in the hammer throw event, Gabriel Kehr and Humberto Mansilla, respectively. 

Photo Gallery (click here) 

An unusually sunny afternoon in Lima came along with the best tennis in the Americas at the Pan American Games. As in its best afternoons, the main stadium of Lawn Tennis de la Exposición club showed an incredible atmosphere, pretty much like that of the Davis Cup. Sadly, this was not enough for Juan Pablo Varillas to qualify fwor the men's singles semifinal.

Varillas as defeated by Chilean Matías Barrios on the central court, whose grandstands shook every time the Peruvian tennis player hit the ball. The spectators would not stop cheering on the Peruvian during the nearly three hours this match lasted, especially in the penultimate set, in which he recovered from seven match points.

“Juan Pablo (Varillas) played at an incredible level as he has been for a while. I think that he'll reach the top of his game at any moment. He had the bonus of a very entertaining environment for us both, which lifted him up in the tensest moments. The court also helped him to move fast,” said the Chilean tennis player.

Chilean Barrios will face Argentinian Guido Andreozzi, while Brazilian Joao Menezes will face another Argentinian, Facundo Bagnis. These matches will be held tomorrow morning.

In the evening, the Peruvian representatives for men’s doubles did not qualify for the medal-defining matches, as they were defeated by Argentinians Andreozzi and Bagnis. Sergio Galdós and Juan Pablo Varillas will still play for the bronze medal tomorrow at 15:30, facing off Bolivians BorisArias and Federico Zeballos.

In the last match, the Peruvian pair Anastasia Iamachkine and Galdós will face off the Bolivian pair Noelia and Federico Zeballos, to qualify for the final and thus fight for the gold medal.

Photo gallery (click here)

Lima 2019 opened a new stage that was remodeled to be up to the best cyclists in the Americas. The velodrome of the VIDENA opened its doors to welcome more than 2000 people in its grandstands, who enjoyed the competition among the best teams in the Americas. 

Entire families and foreign visitors were placed in strategic positions to see the competition of the Peruvian Alonso Gamero. He thrilled everyone when he took the lead in the Omnium event, leaving behind the Chilean Felipe Peñaloza, the Mexican Ignacio Prado, and the American Daniel “Hollywood” Holloway, who took the title in 2017. 

The conditions of the remodeled stage also allowed the Peruvian Estephany Valdivia to set a new national record in 250 m with a time of 22.308. The fans burst into cheers right after the announcement of this record and recognized the effort of the Peruvian cyclists, who now have the best conditions to train and compete internationally. 

The velodrome has a track of 250 meters. The track is made of African wood and, thanks to the remodeling, it now has a ceiling that turns it into an indoor stage. 

It has a capacity of 2300 spectators, with comfortable seats. The width of the track is seven meters. It has cambers (elevation in the curves), with a 42-degree angle. The velodrome has changing rooms and showers, a common area for athletes, a judges' area, as well as first aid stations for athletes and spectators. 

Expectations are running high at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, as an unusual instance of the Pacific Derby will take place tomorrow, when the Peruvian women’s hockey team faces off Chile as part of the preliminary matches for Group B.

The game will start at 16:00 on the sixth day of the Americas’ most important sports event. It will be part of a variety of events taking place, some of which will determine which delegations will reach the podium and pick up the most medals.

This is the case of basketball 3x3, as the gold medal winner will be defined after a long competition day starting at 9:00 and ending at 13:30, to take place at Eduardo Dibós Coliseum.

Canoe sprint will also see a long competition day from 9:00 to 13:30 at Albufera de Medio Mundo in Végueta, Huaura. The event will define the men’s and women’s champions.

Meanwhile, the winners of men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, one of the most representative Olympic disciplines which is part of the Games, will be defined at Villa El Salvador Sports Center, starting at 13:00.

Women’s weightlifting will also define gold medalists in the 64, 76, 96 and 109 kg events at Mariscal Cáceres Coliseum, starting at 12:00.  Triathlon is among Lima 2019’s most demanding sports. The competition will start at 9:00 at Agua Dulce beach, eventually defining the gold medal winner.

TAEKWONDO IN CALLAO

Taekwondo is one of the main martial arts turned into an Olympic sport. The teams will face an intense day competing for the gold at Callao Sports Center, starting at 8:30.

Beach volleyball matches will continue at Costa Verde, starting at 9:00. Shooting events will also continue at the Las Palmas Shooting Range from 9:00 to 11:00. In addition, tennis games will start at Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición.

 Surf events will also start at Punta Rocas Sports Center, going from 9:00 to 16:20, while two squash sessions will take place at 9:00 and 16:00. Meanwhile, there will be three exciting softball matches from 10:00 to 18:30.

ARTISTIC SWIMMING BEGINS

Artistic swimming events will start at the VIDENA Aquatic Center, going from 12:00 to 20:30. Another sport whose competitions will start is badminton, taking place at VIDENA Sports Center 3 from 9:30 to 19:30. 

Today, there will be competitions in the following sports: Handball, baseball, bowling, boxing, equestrian, water skiing and football. Check out the competition calendar at: https://www.lima2019.pe/resultados.

There are still tickets available for competitions. To purchase them, you can enter the Pan American and Parapan American Games website: lima2019.pe. You can also buy your tickets on Teleticket website: https://teleticket.com.pe/lima2019.

Alternatively, you can do so at the stand located at Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco. Or at the 10 points of sale currently operating 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.