Wednesday, October 25, 2023.- The conclusion of rowing gathered all the excitement at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games this noon. The Laguna Grande in San Pedro de La Paz, in the Biobío Region (450 kilometers south of the Chilean capital), was the stage for another row-and-row competition between the United States and Chile.

In a tight finish against the hosts, decided by less than a second, the North American team secured the gold medal in the Mixed Eight with Coxswain. The crew consisted of Isabela Darvin, Ezra Carlson, Alexander Hedge, James Plihal, Mark Couwenhoven, Lauren Miller, Hannah Paynter, Cristina Pretto, and Colette Lucas-Conwell.

Chile, represented by Antonia, Alfredo, Ignacio, and Melita Abraham, Francisco Lapostol, Magdalena Nannig, Victoria Hostetter, Óscar Vázquez, and Isidora Soto, briefly took the lead in the race just one hundred meters from the finish line. However, the final sprint favored the American team, who earned their fifth gold at the Pan American rowing and topped the specific medal tally.

The North Americans stopped the clock with a time of 5:54.26, recording only 91 hundredths less than the local team. Meanwhile, Cuba claimed the bronze, finishing 4.24 seconds behind the winners, but only 20 hundredths ahead of Canada.

With this result, the United States has amassed 114 medals at the Pan American Games, 53 of which are gold. Meanwhile, the Chilean team added two silver medals on this day, regaining fifth place in the live medal tally. In rowing, the North Americans secured first place with five golds, four silvers, and one bronze, followed by Chile with three golds, five silvers, and two bronzes.

Written by Nicolás Olea - Gonzalo Villegas; translated by Vicente Valdivia | Photosport
Photo: Marco Vazquez / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport