The seventh edition of the Parapan American Games officially starts this Friday with an inauguration ceremony. In 2000, athletes from 31 countries will compete in 17 sports over 11 days of competition, coming full circle to Santiago, Chile, as host of the continental fairs.
The National Stadium The Chilean capital will reopen its doors to host the opening ceremony, where delegations will parade and the cauldron will re-light the parapan-American fire, a flame that also represents the affection with which Chileans welcomed the matches.
These games represent the region’s premier event for athletes with physical, visual or intellectual disabilities. The competition ends on November 26 and most athletes aim to qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
The opening show promises to be a musical celebration, with excellent Chilean artists from different music genres, with an emphasis on singer Beto Cuevas, internationally known as the leader and vocalist of the Chilean band A Lei, which started in the late 1980s.
However, the competition starts this Thursday with the first rounds of table tennis in men’s and women’s singles, in eleven class types that bring together para-athletes.
From Saturday, athletes who have already won world titles will face each other; The Cuban Omara Durand, multiple gold medalist at the Paralympic Games, will participate in the sixth edition. On the other hand, Brazilian blind footballer Ricardo, who was world champion, has already won 4 Paralympic titles.
For Mexico, weightlifter Amália Perez will be looking for her sixth Parapan-American gold.
The 17 disciplines The 2023 Olympic Games in Santiago will largely involve adapted Olympic disciplines.
These are adapted sports: athletics, badminton, swimming, weightlifting, taekwondo, table tennis, archery, shooting, track and cycling, rugby, tennis and basketball, all in wheelchairs, judo and football. There is a modality for the blind. and another for people with cerebral palsy.
There are two exceptions: Goal – created in 1946 – and bowls, which debuted at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York and are representative disciplines of these games.
3 DAYS TO THE AMERICAN PARAPAN GAMES
Adriana Carrillo, from goalball, is one of the Mexican athletes who will represent the country at the Parapan American Games #Santiago2023 pic.twitter.com/uePV5UtWNX
– Everything But Football® (@todomenosfut) November 14, 2023
The main reference for the medal count at these fairs is Brazil, where Ha won four of the seven editions. Mexico followed suit, winning the first two, but had to settle for third or fourth place in the last few.
However, Brazil and Mexico are the only countries to cross the border with a total of one thousand medals received during this event.
(With information from EFE)
Source: La Neta Neta
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
