Speed on wheels seems to be a cultural trait in the coffee country. Its representatives lived up to their delegation’s favoritism and topped the podium on the final day of competition, placing first in almost all the races.
First, in the morning, the Colombian Yicel Giraldo was the one who scored the most points in the women’s 5000-point individual event and took home her first gold medal of the day; she then won a second one in the afternoon.
Minutes later, the final of the same category took place, but in the men’s branch, where the winner was the only one who managed to break the day’s trend by depriving Colombia of a gold medal. In this race, the Ecuadorian Nicolás García was the best of all and took first place on the podium.
Subsequently, on the same morning, the 500m plus distance finals were decided, where the Colombians once again prevailed in both branches. In the men’s event, Santiago Vázquez was faster than his rivals and finished first. In the women’s event, Kollin Castro climbed to the top of the podium after a stunning race against representatives from El Salvador and Venezuela.
In the afternoon, the last finals were the long races of the day: the 10000-meter elimination in both men’s and women’s events. There, Yicel Giraldo and Sebastián Florez, ambassadors from the land of coffee, finished first in their respective events and brought more gold medals to their country’s delegation.
Speed skating in Colombia is written with golden letters, and this was demonstrated in their victorious passage through the Junior Pan American Games ASU2025.
