Day 2 Santiago 2023: The allure of the Olympics and the remarkable blend of obscurity and superstardom

Part of the thing about the Pan American Games is that they bring together athletes from less relevant countries, complete unknowns, amateurs who barely reach a high level, and superstars who are few but outstanding.

In Lima, for example, Jamaica brought in sprint specialists Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. In 1987, in Indianapolis, Michael Jordan won the Pan American Games championship. For example, at the Pan American Games in San Diego in 2023, Colombian Mariana Pajón, speed BMX superstar, obviously won here again, but she is a multiple world champion, Olympic A multiple-time Pan American champion and a star in Colombia and around the world, it can be said that he is a very charismatic and talented figure who can compete with more amateur girls. They are legends who competed in the Pan American Games.

A similar situation also occurred in the marathon, when Argentinian Florencia Borelli ultimately lost the gold medal to Mexican marathon runner Citlali Cristian Moscote. He started strong in the marathon and ended up winning, but he is now the first Mexican marathoner to qualify for the Paris Olympics and is preparing to compete for a top-10 finish at the next Olympics.

Flor Borelli, a 31-year-old mother who once trained for track and field competitions, now achieves important results in track and field 3000 meters and marathons, setting Argentine records, South American records and half marathons record. It is a much less developed sport than the Mexican one.

The final case is the skeet test, or skeet shooting test.

Vincent Hancock, an American skeet shooter who had just won a gold medal with a Pan American record time, was another standout. Hancock won the first of six world titles at the age of 16 and went on to win his last three Olympic titles: London, Rio and Tokyo. He also defeated Argentinian boy Federico Gil, who qualified for Paris and worked at home. His father, Horacio Gil, was a great teacher and shooter. His sister Melissa Gil is also an Olympic representative, which is completely different from the super professionalism of this North American boy, who is a big star.

The United States, on the other hand, sends BC or D teams in gymnastics, diving, track and field, swimming and other events. Suddenly, a figure so important emerged that, like Hancock, he brought prestige to the tournament and came out of nowhere. The level of the skeet event was so high that second place Federico Gil entered Paris with such a performance that, with the template he showed in Santiago, he not only qualified for the Tokyo finals, but Also won a silver medal. .

Day two of the Santiago 2023 Olympics left new medals and some important marks. Even without its best athletes, North American rhythmic gymnastics dominance is under scrutiny, with the women’s team, including Tokyo 2020 medalist Jordan Chiles, starting with Rebeca Andrade. Andrade’s Brazil (Olympic medalist and world champion) took the Pan American title from their hands. Team Canada takes the podium.

The latter certainly know how to shine in swimming events, with Mary-sophie Harvey taking gold in the women’s 200m freestyle and Hannah Mcneil in the 100m butterfly Won a gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly and set a Pan American record in the 100-meter butterfly. 56.96 seconds. He won a bronze medal with Hugh McNeil in the men’s 200m backstroke and finished third in the mixed 4×100 relay. He also won medals in diving and skateboarding.

On the second day of competition, the Canadian team surpassed the Mexican team in the medal standings and ranked second with a total of 20 medals. Team USA took off on day two, winning 24 medals to bring their total to 44 medals.