Wednesday, November 1st.- Athletics continues to bring joy to Chile, which had gone several days without standing on the Pan American Games podium. This time, it was Martina Weil who secured a gold medal for the host nation by winning the 400 meters final.
On a rainy day at the Estadio Nacional track, the sprinter triumphed with a time of 51.48 seconds, surpassing Ecuador's Nicole Dayci Caicedo (51.76) and Colombia's Evelis Aguilar (51.95). In the same distance but in the male's event, Martín Kouyoumdjian secured a bronze medal with a time of 46.58 seconds after the disqualification of Colombia's Anthony Zambrano, who had finished third in the race.
The day was not positive for the female's water polo team. In the final match of the group stage, the female team couldn't overcome Puerto Rico and lost 14-12. This marked their third consecutive defeat, but at least they improved compared to their first two matches, in which they were defeated by the United States and Brazil, respectively.
In frontball basque pelota, experienced player Zita Solas secured a victory against Costa Rica's María Araya, recovering from a tough loss to Argentina in her debut. In the same category, Gonzalo Foullioux was defeated by Mexico's Miguel Álvarez (former world champion) in straight sets.
The male's football team earned a place in the final by defeating the United States 1-0. César Pérez scored the only goal of the match with a free-kick in the 57th minute. Chile will compete for the gold medal against Mexico on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. at the Estadio Elías Figueroa in Playa Ancha.
Chile did not have a good day in male's basketball, as they were crushed by Brazil in a Group B match played at the Polideportivo 1 del Estadio Nacional, ending with a final score of 94-43.
In the canoe sprint, there were positive developments with the host nation competing in two categories after the first qualifying races on Laguna San Pedro de La Paz (approximately 600 kilometers from Santiago). The pair of Marcelo Godoy and Camilo Valdés qualified for the final in the male's K2 500 meters, and María José Mailliard did the same in the female's C1 200. Additionally, Ysumi Orellana will compete in the semi-finals of the female's K1 500, aiming for a spot in the final.
Male's field hockey delivered an unprecedented achievement as Chile advanced to the final. “Los Diablos” defeated Canada in an exciting penalty shootout (3-2) after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. They will face Argentina for the gold medal on Friday at 7:45 p.m. at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped.
Fencing earned another bronze medal when Analía Fernández lost in the semi-finals of female's individual épée to Argentina's María De Las Mercedes di Tella with a score of 15-11, at the Centro de Deportes Paralímpicos del Estadio Nacional. This meant the Chilean athlete missed the opportunity to compete for gold in this fencing category.
At the end of the 13th day of competition, Chile stands in seventh place on the medal table with 8 gold, 19 silver, and 14 bronze medals, totaling 44 medals.
Written by Ernesto Bustos B.; translated by Andrés Castro / Photosport
Photo by Jonnathan Oyarzun/Santiago 2023 / Photosport
