Wednesday, November 1st.- The United States continues to dominate in the accumulation of gold medals at Santiago 2023. This Wednesday, they added another medal in the team equestrian jumping event thanks to the outstanding performance of their quartet composed of Mclain Ward, Laura Kraut, Kent Farrington, and Karl Cook.

The American team achieved a score of 12.37, leaving Canada with the silver (17.62) and Brazil with the bronze (20.32), the latter of which had won gold in the previous Pan American Games in Lima 2019. Mexico finished fourth with a score of 22.58.

It's worth mentioning that with this result, the United States, Canada, and Mexico secured spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Mexican team, despite finishing fourth, qualified because Brazil was already guaranteed a spot in the Paris event.

After the competition, the American rider Laura Kraut commented, "It was extremely nerve-wracking today. We had a great first round, but you still know it can all go away. We had two mediocre rounds, so it was a relief when those ahead of me cleared. I almost enjoyed the last round, unlike yesterday."

Beth Underhill from Canada said, "We all felt the same pressure. Everyone's scores count, and everyone was able to contribute. I'm proud to be here with my teammates, my family, and the rest of my team, all of whom are good friends as well. More than excited to be here and go to Paris next year."

Meanwhile, the Brazilian rider Pedro Bennis stated, "We were close to the gold and repeating what we did in Lima 2019. It didn't work out; sports are like that. There are very good teams, like the United States and Canada. Now we have to fight for medals in the individual events at these Pan American Games."

With this medal, the United States has reached a total of 78 gold medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, leading the overall medal table with a total of 181 medals. Brazil is in second place with 37 golds (131 in total), and Canada is third with 35 golds (110 medals in total).

Written by Patricio Echagüe and Gonzalo Pérez; translated by Andrés Castro / Photosport
Photo by Miguel Campos/Santiago 2023 / Photosport