On the first day of track cycling finals at the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Colombia and Chile reaped the greatest rewards, each claiming two titles. Colombia dominated the men’s and women’s team sprint, while Chile dominated the men’s and women’s team pursuit.
The trio of Francisco Jaramillo, Nicolás Olivera, and John Beltrán won the men’s team sprint with a time of 44.788 seconds, beating the Mexican team of Jafet López, Etan Nuño, and Ian Navarro, who clocked 45.355, in the gold medal race.
Trinidadians Danell James, Jelani Nedd, and Ryan D’Abreau won the bronze medal with a time of 46.216 seconds, beating Venezuelans Sergio Garcés, Alberto Torres, and Moisés Ramos (47.307) in the medal race.
In the women’s event, Colombians Stefany Cuadrado, Marianis Salazar, and Nathalia Martínez took the crown with a time of 48.595 seconds, beating the record of 49.200 set by the same trio in the qualifying round.
The champions defeated Argentines Guadalupe Díaz, Valentina Méndez, and Valentina Luna in the final, who achieved a time of 50.032 seconds. The bronze medal went to the Trinidadian team of Phoebe Sandy, Makaira Wallace, and Kyra Williams, who clocked 50.145 seconds, relegating Venezuelans Carliany Martínez, Jalymar Rodríguez, and Yoheris Moreno to fourth place (51.622).
In the men’s team pursuit, Chileans Diego Rojas, Martín Mancilla, Josafat Cárdenas, and Raimundo Carvajal won the title by defeating Argentines Santiago Gruñeiro, Mateo Duque, Agustín Ferrari, and Ramiro Videla in the final.
The Mexican team of Fernando Nava, Marcelo Garza, Kevin Ortega, and Arath Sánchez took third place with a time of 4:10.729 minutes, beating Venezuelans Arlez Méndez, Winston Maestre, Jesús Goyo, Diego Méndez, and Alberto Torres (4:17.383) in the podium.
In the women’s event, Chileans Javiera Garrido, Maité Ibarra, Martina Rojas, and Marlen Rojas took the crown after beating Colombians Luciana Osorio, Karen González, Jennifer Sánchez, and Natalia Garzón in the final.
Mexicans Nicole Cordova, María Figueroa, Viviana Arriaga, and Giovana López took the bronze medal with a time of 4:49.192, leaving Argentina’s Julieta Benedetti, Ludmila Aguirre, Abril Garzón, and Bianca Tempestini in fourth place (4:51.879).