Friday, November 3rd, 2023.- In a showdown that we will likely see repeated at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and was decided by a fraction of a second, Cuban Yarisleidis Cirilo prevailed over the Chilean María José Mailliard and took home the gold medal in the female's C1 200m at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

The setting of Laguna Grande in San Pedro de La Paz showcased a neck-and-neck race between the Cuban and the local representative. The 21-year-old world champion from three months ago in Duisburg showcased her speed in the final stretch, after an initial lead by Canadian Sophia Jensen, and secured the crown with a time of 45.87, just 0.3 seconds ahead of Mailliard.

The canoeist from Guantánamo, a four-time world medalist, confirmed her favoritism in Chile as she prepares for the upcoming Olympic Games, while María José Mailliard brought pride to the local representatives and received a standing ovation from the audience that gathered at the wetland in the Biobío region.

Cirilo's victory confirmed Cuba's fifth place in the medal standings with their twentieth gold medal, while Chile added its twenty-first silver medal.

Written by Gonzalo Villegas y Nicolás Olea; translated by Pía Barriga / Photosport
Photo by Carlos Acuña / Santiago 2023 / Photosport