Today’s busy Athletics schedule began just as night fell with the men’s 10000m race where, after half an hour of uninterrupted pace, the Colombian Pedro Marín took the gold medal with a time of 30:57.8.
Then, the semifinals of the 110m hurdles in the men’s category took place; speed with obstacles, like life itself. The first heat was won by the Brazilian Thiago Dos Santos, with a Pan American record included (13:77). However, the joy for the new mark did not last long for the one born in the land of coffee. In the second semifinal, the Cuban Yander Herrera stopped the clock at 13:54 and took first place in the heat.
The good Cuban harvest continued in the next event, men’s High Jump, with the gold medal obtained by Diosber Hernández. The Caribbean athlete passed the 2.07m mark and with a better mark than his podium companions, the Argentinian Santiago Barberia and the Mexican Jesús Vásquez, silver and bronze, respectively.
Next, it was back to the track with lanes for the 200m races in men’s and women’s; another of the great attractions of this sport. In the women’s final, the Dominican Liranyi Alonso set a new junior continental record (22.69) and climbed to the top of the podium. The same thing happened in the men’s category: gold and a Pan American record. The Puerto Rican José Figueroa was the fastest of all and stopped the clock at 20.16.
Then, the day took a break from speed events and moved on to one of strength, with the women’s Shot Put where the delegation from Dominica got its first medal of the Games. Treneese Hamilton was close to breaking the record with her throw of 17.21m which helped her to take the gold medal.
Resuming with the running events, in the men’s 1500m, the Canadian Jude Wheeler-Dee was the fastest of all and finished the event with a time of 3:45.08 to add to his delegation’s gold record. In the next competition, resistance and speed were mixed in the women’s 5000m. There, Mexico showed its power by placing two of its athletes on the podium. Dafne Juárez won the gold with a new Pan American record: 15:51.27. The silver medal went to the Canadian Jadyn Keller and the bronze to the Aztec Sabrina Salcedo.
Ending the day, the finals of the relays were experienced with great emotion, in men’s and women’s. In them, in the men’s 4x100m relay, Colombia surpassed everyone with a new junior continental record. The new time to beat is 38.99. Finally, in the same event, but in the women’s category, Jamaica confirmed its favoritism, broke the Pan American record, and won the gold medal.
