Friday, october 27nd, 2023.- With the deafening support of the crowd at the Centro de Vóleibol Playa in Peñalolén, cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt prevailed 2-1 over the United States duo (Logan Webber and John Smith) to claim the bronze medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

From the very start, the match was closely contested. Going point for point in each set, both pairs demonstrated their worthiness to reach this stage, and it was the Chileans who capitalized on their opponent's errors to take the first set 21-14.

The second set was even more fiercely contested, and it wasn't until the last three points that the Americans managed to overtake the Chileans, winning 21-18. The third and deciding set also went to the local pair, who secured the bronze by winning 15-12, igniting the crowd's excitement.

"We are super happy. We were going for the gold; that was the goal. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, but we switched our focus to winning the bronze. We had experienced a similar situation in Toronto, where we couldn't celebrate anything, and we didn't want that to happen again," said Marco Grimalt after the match.

"We did well in blocking and serving, which are our main strengths, and we managed a difficult match. We want to thank the people who supported us. This was a long process, and this medal is the result of several years of work," Marco Grimalt added.

His cousin Esteban highlighted, "We wanted to win the gold in Chile, and that dream was shattered yesterday. Brazil beat us fair and square; it's tough, but sacrifice and perseverance are important, even when dreams don't come true. Now we wanted to win the bronze to repay the support of the people who supported us even more strongly during the defeat. It's a bronze medal that feels like gold due to the joy it brings to the Chilean public."

The matches for the fifth through eighth positions, scheduled in the morning, were not played due to the non-appearance of Argentina (Campogrosso-Campogrosso) and Mexico (Sarabia-Virgen) due to physical problems. As a result, Canada (Macneil-Russell) finished in fifth place, and Ecuador (Tenorio-León) in seventh

Written by Marcelo López; translated by Rocio Rojas / Photosport.
Photo by Jonnathan Oyarzun / Santiago 2023 / Photosport