Thursday, November 2nd.- On Wednesday, after the first four events of the heptathlon at Santiago 2023, Erin Marsh went to bed at the Pan American Village as the leader of the competition, becoming the favorite for the gold medal. 

This Thursday, with the sun finally shining on the track of the Estadio Nacional, the 24-year-old American confirmed her performance from the first day. Despite not winning any of the three closing events, she is going home with the title of the super athlete of these Pan American Games. 

Marsh completed 5,882 points, enough to surpass Puerto Rican Alysbeth Félix (5,665) and American Jordan Gray (5,494), who tried to mount a late comeback with their victories in the long jump and the 800 meters, respectively. 

The new Pan American champion, succeeding Cuban Adriana Rodríguez, won the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter flat race, in addition to finishing second in the long jump. 

However, Marsh's score was far from qualifying her for the Paris 2024 Olympics, for which a minimum mark of 6,480 is required. 

Written by Felipe Hurtado H; translated by Rocio Rojas / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Ph: Marcelo Hernández / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport