Thursday, November 23rd, 2023.- With an extraordinary finish at the Centro Acuático at the Estadio Nacional and against all odds, Vicente Almonacid won the 200m individual medley SM8, securing the thirteenth gold medal for Chile in the 2023 Santiago Parapan American Games, this morning amidst the deafening support of a thousand fans at the central pool.

The local athlete had an extraordinary performance starting from the second half of the race to defeat the favorite and reigning Parapan American champion, Mexican Paralympic representative Luis Armando Andrade.

Almonacid closed a gap of more than three seconds from the 100m mark, thanks to an extraordinary display in the breaststroke style, which he later finalized in a very close finish in the freestyle against Andrade.

The 23-year-old swimmer and flagbearer for Chile in the Parapan American Games clinched the first gold for the hosts in Para swimming, with a time of 2:35.30, 1.11 seconds ahead of the favorite Andrade, while Argentinian Lucas Leguiza took the bronze after the disqualification of Gabriel Silva and Facundo Singnorini.

Written by María Fernanda Pavez and Nicolás Olea; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Marcelo Hernández / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport