The Mayor of Lima, Jorge Muñoz, and the Lima 2019 Official Spokesperson, Carlos Manuel Lazarte, welcomed at the Jorge Chávez International Airport more than 100 Mexican athletes that arrived at the capital to participate in the Pan American Games competitions, that are about to start.

In this welcoming ceremony, the Mayor of Lima excitedly stated that “the ones who are here are the Peruvian culture ambassadors and, as representatives of the greatest multi-sports festivity of the Americas, we wish you the best and to enjoy your stay in our country.”

The reception of the Mexican athletes included an artistic performance, in charge of Lima Airport Partners, with different typical dances from the coast, highlands and jungle, such as “marinera norteña”, “huaylas”, “anaconda”, among others dances of national folklore.  The Mexican athletes joined the show and turned their arrival into an episode that will remain in their memories.

As part of the ceremony, a ribbon cut was held for the opening of a reception area in the International Arrivals Hall, which will allow to offer more hospitality to all the delegations that come from the Americas. In this place, there is a wall that provides diverse information related to the Games such as venues, historical backgrounds, etc.

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 21 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.

Paola Longoria will be one of the stars of Lima 2019. The best female racquetball player of all time will arrive Sunday evening. She is going for her third gold medal, which will make her one of the most successful athletes in Pan American Games history. 

She is getting ready for the largest multi-sport event in the Americas. Her goal is to defend her title in the singles, doubles (with her partner Samantha Salas) and team categories, a title that she obtained at Guadalajara 2011 and Toronto 2015. 

“We are very prepared. I have already finished my stage with the multidisciplinary team. We were working in the city of San Luis, Potosí, but I decided to complete my training for the Pan American Games in Monterrey,” said Longoria. 

RACQUETBALL AT LIMA 2019 

It should be noted that racquetball was created as an alternative to tennis in order to play it indoors. This sport combines the rules of squash and handball, adding the use of a racket. 

It is played in a completely enclosed court, where the floor, four walls and ceiling are part of the game. Racquetball is an aggressive and physical sport and the players frequently move quickly to score points. 

At the Pan American Games, racquetball competitions will have singles and doubles matches in a round-robin group format. After this qualifying round, there will be a second qualifying round. All matches will be played to the best of three sets. The first two sets will be played to 15 points and the third set to 11 points, according to International Racquetball Federation regulations. 

The quota for racquetball players is 60, equally divided between the men’s and women’s categories. Doubles and singles competitions will start on August 2. The final is scheduled for the first session of August 7. The team competition will end three days after that, on August 10. 

BUY YOUR TICKETS 

The racquetball competition starts on August 2 at the Callao Regional Sports Village courts. Fans can buy tickets for this event on the Pan American and Parapan American Games official website. lima2019.pe/tickets 

Additionally, you can buy your tickets at any authorized point of sale at the Metro and Wong supermarkets and stores in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco.  It is worth noting that a new point of sale has recently opened at the Jockey Plaza shopping center in Santiago de Surco. 

The Pan American Games will be held from July 26 to August 11. It will feature delegations from 41 countries of the Americas, who will compete in 39 sports and 61 disciplines. Twenty-one of these disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. A total of 6680 athletes will participate in this event.