Thanks to their great performances during the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, Colombia’s Mariana Pajón and Cuba’s Julio César La Cruz were selected as the 2019 Best Athletes of the Americas at the ANOC Awards in Doha, Qatar, during the meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees.

Pajón won the BMX cycling competition in the Costa Verde San Miguel course, where she made it to the top of the podium, winning the gold at the Lima 2019 Games, despite being inactive for over a year because of an injury. The Colombian athlete won the award for the best female athlete of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.

The award ceremony was held by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Doha, where they highlighted the Colombian athlete’s achievements, as she is a double Olympic medalist and world, Pan American and South American BMX champion.

“It’s amazing. I’m very surprised, because there’s a very large group of very talented athletes in our continent so, this award is a motivation for what’s next,” said Mariana Pajón.

Cuban boxer Julio César La Cruz, who won the gold in the -81 kg competition in the ring in the Miguel Grau Coliseum in Callao during the Lima 2019 Games, took home the award for Best Male Athlete of the Pan American Games during the ANOC Awards.

Julio César La Cruz also won the gold medal in boxing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. At age 29, he won his third consecutive Pan American gold medal in -81 kg, after his success in Guadalajara 2011 and Toronto 2015.