Sunday, November 19th, 2023.- In an entertaining, closely contested, and very tough match, the United States remained unbeaten by defeating Colombia 57-42 in their third wheelchair rugby game at the Centro de Deportes Colectivos at the Estadio Nacional. 

Except for the last quarter, which Colombia won 17-15, the other partial scores favored the U.S. team by 16-7, 12-7, and 13-11. This performance underscores their status as favorites to win the Parapan American gold and secure a spot at Paris 2024. 

Their top scorer was Charles "Chuck" Aoki with 19 tries, followed by Sarah Adam with 15. The rugby player shared her thoughts after the match, saying, "It was an exciting game, definitely felt like the first time the team clicked, everything was in sync, it was a fun game to play. A bit more intense with Colombia, who has some really excellent players. We came out respecting them, but we wanted to show that the United States was going to be dominant from the start." 

The player also talked about the upcoming match against Canada on Tuesday, which has become a classic in the sport. She said, "That's the game we really look forward to. They're always great matches when we play against Canada, very competitive games, and we match up well with them. It will be exciting to watch. I hope we can go to Paris on behalf of the team. We definitely look forward to that. But now our focus is on what we play here, sealing our pass to Paris. And we have work to do early next year too." 

On the other hand, Colombia, ranked tenth, managed to complicate things for the winners in a very tough and heavily contested match. 

Once again, Colombian David García was the top scorer for his team, with 11 tries. 

The United States, considered the best team in the world according to the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation's ranking, holds the most medals in the discipline, with three golds (1996, 2000, and 2008), two silvers (2016-2020), and two bronzes (2004-2012). 

At the end of the day, Brazil defeated Argentina in a contested match, where the Brazilians prevailed 58-37, as part of the preliminary round of Group A. 

Let's remember that this sport was originally named Murderball. Collisions between wheelchairs are part of the appeal, involving actions such as hitting or blocking to stop an opponent or create space for a teammate in the attack. 

The Parapan American Games will feature 15 disciplines that will grant spots for Paris 2024, and mixed wheelchair rugby is one of them. The qualification format includes a direct spot for the gold medal, while silver and bronze medalists must play a repechage. 

Finally, the third round will take place tomorrow with the following matches: Canada-Chile at 11:00 a.m., USA-Brazil at 1:00 p.m., Colombia-Canada at 4:30 p.m. The day will conclude with Chile-Argentina at 6:30 p.m. 



Written by Esteban Gómez - Ernesto Bustos; translated by Pía Barriga Ferry / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport 
Ph: Pepe Alvujar / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport