The Peruvian women’s goalball team (a Para sport especially created for persons with visual impairment) ended its first-ever participation at the Parapan American Games with a bang, claiming their first victory in the match against Costa Rica with a 7-0 score. 

The local players, led by Milagros Cotrina, showed real progress even though this Para sport is new for most of them, and they have prepared for a relatively short time as a result. Cotrina, who is only 17 years old, became the top scorer of the Peruvian team this afternoon at the Miguel Grau Coliseum in Callao by scoring four goals against Costa Rica. Milagros was also the Peruvian top scorer at the Parapan American Games with six goals (she also scored once against both Canada and Mexico). 

Another outstanding member of the Peruvian women’s goalball team in the competition, Jennifer Mamani, scored three goals in the 7-0 victory against Costa Rica. After this result, team Peru earned its first three points in the international competition, where they made their debut with great enthusiasm.  

The Peruvian goalball team was created in 2017; a year later, they achieved the third place in South America. They are currently in the fifth position at Parapan American level with an interesting future and promising players such as Milagros Cotrina. 

Erika Inuma, Nicolle Pelayo, Nicole Pérez and Diana Flores were also part of the national team. They all were eagerly supported by the fans in the Miguel Grau Coliseum of Callao, which was especially remodeled for the Lima 2019 Games.  

The semifinals will take place tomorrow, featuring the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The final match for the gold medal will be played on Saturday. All these exciting events will take place in the Miguel Grau Coliseum. 

TICKETS FOR SALE 

Watch the Americas’ best Para athletes in action at the Parapan American Games by buying your tickets, starting at PEN 10. There is a 50% discount for children under 18, senior citizens, and people with an impairment. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket offices of the sports venue and at the 11 authorized points of sale throughout the city. 

They can also be purchased online at lima2019.pe/tickets, where you will find the detailed competition schedules. In the case of e-tickets, printing will no longer be necessary since customers can show their e-tickets from their mobile phones at the entrance of the sports venue. 

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.

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)

A beautiful sunrise on Sunday On the fourth day of competitions of the Parapan American Games, the Peruvian delegation won a new medal with a great performance of Jorge Arcela from Ayacucho in shooting Para sport.

Arcela, a brave member of the Peruvian Police who defeated death, shot until the end for the gold in the competition of 10m air rifle prone SH1, but the American Taylor Farmer got the gold medal in the last shot with an accumulated score of 250.2. The Peruvian athlete obtained 250.1 and placed second with the silver medal.

Arcela kept among the first places during the last stage of the competition, which helped him obtain a silver medal since Farmer was more accurate in the last shot. See the competition results of the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games. 

The Peruvian Para athlete is a role model because he defeated death when crime tried to take his life during the time he was a police officer in Trujillo. He got better and now brought great joy to Peru and his family, who accompanied him in Las Palmas Shooting Range.

“I want to thank my family for this medal. They were always by my side. Thanks to my dear Ayacucho. Thank God for all the blessings. This is for Peru and everyone who supported me.” Arcela said in tears quite excited.

The medal won by Arcela is the third medal won by the Peruvian representatives at Lima 2019 and the second silver medal after the one won by Luis Sandoval in Para athletics. We have a bronze medal won by Fred Villalobos in judo.

Milagros Palomino is another Peruvian representative who reached the last stage and placed seventh.

These were his first Parapan American Games and he will remember them. Fred Villalobos achieved the bronze medal in the category -81kg in judo.

At 28 years old, the judoka defeated the American Nathan Ostergaard by Ippon at the VIDENA Sports Center 2 winning the second medal for Peru.

Months before competing, Fred mentioned that “impairment can be an asset to achieve amazing things”.

In this category, the gold medal was given to Mexican Eduardo Avila, who became the Parapan Americanchampion for the fourth time in a raw. The Judoka had obtained the gold medal in Rio 2007, Guadalajara 2011 and Toronto 2015. He also obtained gold at the Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 Paralympics Games.

Gerardo Rodriguez from Cuba obtained the silver medal and Brazilian Harlley Pereira shared the bronze one with Villalobos. 

If you want to enjoy more competitions and supporting the Para athletes, get your tickets on www.lima2019.pe  or at authorized points of sale.

Photo Gallery (click here)

One of the most remembered love gestures while representing Peru in sports happened on February 29, 2000. The famous midfielder of the Peruvian football team, Roberto “Chorri” Palacios, showed a T-shirt with “I love Peru” written on it, after scoring a goal against Paraguay.

Nineteen years later, the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games allowed us again to watch a similar love gesture for Peru.  It happened on the men’s sitting volleyball match between Peru and Canada, where the Peruvian team lost 3 sets to 0.

The Peruvian sitting volleyball team fought the whole third set (25-16), and the result is anecdotal. The really important thing is that there was constant connection between the Peruvian team and fans on the stands.

This magic connection inspired the sitting volleyball teammate, Miguel Fernández, to run across the court after the game, carrying the Peruvian flag to thank the fans and to show his commitment with our country’s team.

The Peruvian players dominated the wheelchair tennis session today.. Apart from Ysabelino Apaza and Jesús Mayhua’s victories in men’s singles, Peru snatched another medal thanks to María Castillo. The wheelchair tennis player won the first round of the competition, after beating the Chilean Sofía Fuentes by far.

Cheered by a great number of fans at the central stadium of the Club Lawn Tennis, the Para athlete from Cajamarca came back from 4-1 down in the first half and ended up winning the last two sets. Castillo will try to move to the semifinals tomorrow against the USA’s Dana Mathewson, the third favorite to win in the tournament.

“It was exciting because I managed to come back with the support of the fans. Also, the pride of playing home helped me not to give up that easily and I was able to show off all my experience on the court (19 years). My goal was to advance to the next round and to keep improving, especially because we're facing off the best Para athletes in the world,” said María Castillo.

Back to the competitions, Apaza will go up against Alexander Cataldo in the second round, while Mayhua will compete against the Costa Rican José Pablo Gil. Tomorrow, the second competition day will also make the Lawn Tennis vibrate with excitement.

CHEER THEM ON FROM THE STANDS

If you want to see these amazing Para tennis players in action, you can get your tickets starting at PEN 10.00. Additionally, there will be a 50% discount for children under 18, senior citizens and people with an impairment. Tickets can only be purchased at the Box Offices in the main entrance of the Lawn Tennis(Avenida 28 de Julio) and at any of the 11 authorized ticket centers across the city of Lima.

You can also get them online through the websitelima2019.pe/tickets, where you will also find the detailed competition schedule. As for the 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.

Photo Gallery (click here)

Two weeks ago, she did not have the ID that certified her Peruvian citizenship so she was unable to be part of the judo national team. Nevertheless, the paperwork was fast tracked and Yuliana Bolívar was able to obtain her citizenship and participate in the Pan American Games.

Born in Venezuela and having represented her home country in ODESUR, she decided to apply for Peruvian citizenship and, today, she claimed the bronze medal for Peru in the +78 kg category.

“It’s bronze but it feels like gold. I’m so grateful and this is the beginning of many accomplishments. I’m proud to represent Peru, because many people worked to get this medal,” claimed Yuliana.

It was a tough match. Her rival, Kina Cutro-Kelly from the US, was a difficult obstacle. When the judge penalized her for a third time, Yuliana cried and covered her face with emotion. “I couldn’t believe it because I worked so hard and I left many things behind; the medal is very valuable,” she stated.

The VIDENA Sport Center 1 filled with applause and it became a special moment.  “Feeling the celebration from the Peruvian audience that has adopted me is very special to me, because neither my parents nor my family are here,” mentioned Yuliana.

“I did not expect to feel so much support, I feel happy. When I received the medal, I cried again because I saw people screaming my name, and it’s very special to see Peruvians and Venezuelans united in supporting an achievement for Peru,” she added.

But this does not end here; this is the first step for Yuliana. “To achieve your dreams you need to be convinced of what you want and right now my mind is focused on Tokyo, God willing,” concluded the medalist.

Karate continues giving us joy. This time, it was the turn of the athlete Isabel Mallory Aco, who reached the bronze medal in Kumite, 68 kg category. The combat was held at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center, where a great number of spectators attended. 

The Peruvian representative took the 39th medal for Peru. It is a historical figure that surpasses all previous participation in this type of international competitions. Isabel Aco participated on the last day of competitions at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, where she reached the bronze medal in the semifinal. She was defeated by Omaira Molina from Venezuela. 

With this victory, Peru collected 21 bronze medals, 11 gold medals and seven silver medals, making Lima 2019 an unforgettable event for Peru and the athletes.  

Karate added gold medals with Alexandra Grande and the men’s Kata team (Oliver del Castillo, John Trebejo and Carlos Lam), bronze medals with the women’s Kata team (Andrea Almarza, Sol Romaní and Saida Salcedo), Ingrid Aranda and Mariano Wong, both in individual Kata. 

In the classical bodybuilding event, held on August 10 at Mariscal Cáceres Coliseum in Chorrillos, a technical mistake in the result system put the preliminary results as the finals results in the Lima 2019 website. 

The incorrect results were removed as soon as the mistake was identified. The results that appear now are the correct ones. Lima 2019 apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

Gold medal - William Yuri Rodriguez Gonzales [ESA] 
Silver medal - Carlos Alberto Giraldo Barragan [COL] 
Bronze medal - Jonathan Estuar Martinez Catalan [GUA]