Wednesday, November 1st.- Argentina finally celebrated a new gold medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, increasing their total to four gold medals. In fencing, María de las Mercedes Di Tella won the individual epee category.

The Argentine fencer won the final with a score of 15-9 against Peru's María Luisa Doig, securing a gold medal that she celebrated emotionally with her family at the Centro de Deportes Paralímpicos del Estadio Nacional.

"I can't believe it. It's a dream come true. I worked hard to achieve this goal for many years. I set the goal to do my best here, and I'm very happy to have won the gold medal," the champion said.

"This is for all the people who accompanied me on this long journey and career. My coaches, teammates, and friends. Also, for my psychologist who passed away a year ago, Juan José Brander, whom I miss a lot. He enjoyed it more than I did," she added.

Peruvian María Luisa Doig also ended the competition with a great sense of happiness. "I had faced Di Tella at the South American Games, and this was the rematch, but, well, that's how sports are. I'm happy because it's the first medal in the history of Peruvian fencing. I feel super proud of this achievement," she said.

In the male's competition, American Andrew Doddo celebrated victory in the individual sabre, defeating Venezuelan Eliecer Romero 15-11 in the final.

With these results, Argentina climbed to the tenth position in the medal standings of Santiago 2023, with four gold medals and a total of 37 medals. Meanwhile, the United States continues to lead the medal standings with 84 gold medals and a total of 189 medals.


Written by Patricio Echagüe and Juan Caroca; translated by Andrés Castro / Photosport
Photo by Dragomir Yankovic/Santiago 2023 / Photosport