By Steve Keating
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – From the beach to the ring Brazilians punched and spiked their way to Pan American Games gold on Friday as the first week of competition in chilly Santiago came to an end along with the United States gold rush.
Beach volleyball is considered a national pastime in Brazil and under the fog shrouded Andes mountains the top ranked women’s pair of Patricia Ramos and Duda Lisboa and men’s duo of Andre Stein and George Souto produced steely performances to return home with both titles.
On the other side of the Chilean capital Brazilian boxers were piling up 12 medals, including four gold, all from women, led by twice world champion and Olympic silver medallist Beatriz Ferreira.
World champions in 2022 before losing the title to the U.S. two weeks ago, Ramos and Lisboa were golden again as they beat the Canadian flag bearers Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson 2-0.
The silver was Canada’s first medal in women’s beach volleyball at a Pan Am Games.
A tight final (22-20, 22-18) was played at the high level expected from the two sides featuring world champions.
Andre Loyola and George Souto had to work a little longer and harder into the cold evening to complete the golden double needing three sets to see off Cuba’s Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz 2-1.
Two of Chile’s most popular athletes beach volleyballers Marco and Esteban Grimalt were not able to defend the gold they won four years ago in Lima but the cousins came through with a bronze medal with a 2-1 win over Americans Logan Webber and Hagen Smith that delighted the raucous flag-waving crowd.
It was a busy day in the boxing ring where 13 golds were handed out and Olympic tickets punched.
A silver medal came with a bonus prize with every fighter in the finals having secured a quota spot for the Paris Olympics.
Ferreira was the first of the Brazilians to strike gold claiming the women’s 60 kilogram title with a unanimous 5-0 decision over Colombia’s Angie Paola Valdes Pana while Caroline Barbosa (women’s 50kg), Jucielen Romeu (women’s 57kg) and Barbara Maria Dos Santos (women’s 66kg) all climbed to the top of the podium.
Boxing powerhouse Cuba was limited to just two gold, twice Olympic champion Julio Cesar La Cruz taking the men’s 92kg final and Arlen Lopez Cardona the winner at 80kg.
The United States and Canada also each had a pair of champions, Joshua Edwards claiming the super heavyweight (+92kg) gold for the Americans and Jahmal Harvey the 57kg crown.
In the women’s 75-kilogram Canada’s Tammara Thibeault added Pan Am gold to her world and Commonwealth Games titles with a unanimous 5-0 decision over Panama’s Atheyna Bylon. Wyatt Sanford also won for Canada taking gold in the 63.5kg weightclass.
“Out of all the tournaments I’ve been to, I’ve been able to capture gold and I was missing Pan Ams,” said Thibeault. “Now missing the Olympics, but hopefully we’re on the right path and that’s what we’re going to get.”
Mexico continued their domination of the modern pentathlon with Emiliano Hernandez and Duilio Carrillo winning the men’s relay to complete a sweep of all five gold on offer in Chile.
That contribution helped power Mexico into second place on the medal table with 35 gold and 80 total medals.
After piling up 59 gold in the first five days the U.S. has added just two since but remains comfortably ahead in the standings with 61 gold and 152 overall.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Santiago. Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
