Punta Cana’s Barceló Convention Center and Barcelo Bavaro Resort are hosting the Pan American Taekwondo Championships (a G-4 category sports event), gathering the best athletes in the sport in the Americas. 38 gold medals will be awarded. The competition is from 2 to 5 May 2022.
This is the second time the Dominican Republic stages the regional event. The first time was in 2004 in Santo Domingo.
A US$10 entrance fee is charged to the general public to view the competitions.
Sports Minister Francisco Camacho, the Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) and the Dominican Taekwondo Federation officials attended the opening ceremony.
Next, the Dominican Open of Taekwondo, a G-2 category competition, is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, 6-7 May 2022. Athletes from Europe and Asian countries will compete against athletes from the Americas.
Both competitions provide points for the eventual qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The gold medal winners in the Pan American Championship will earn 40 points and those in the Open Championship 20 points.
Dominican Katherine Rodriguez, with experience in two Olympic Games, and her teammates Banesa Lara, Marlin de la Cruz, Nahomy Victor, Yeury de los Santos and Cristopher Reyes Pie, brother of Bernardo and Luisito Pie, are competing for the Dominican Republic in the events.
Anastasia Zolotik, the gold medal winner for the United States in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is competing in 57 kilos in the Pan Am competition. She also won gold at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.
The director of the coaching staff of the Dominican national teams, Miguel Camacho, highlighted the importance of both events. He said the country is prepared at a technical and organizational level to host the most important sporting events of the continent. He said this week Punta Cana is the taekwondo capital of the world, with the celebration of these two events from 2-7 May 2022.
Read more:
Presidencia
4 May 2022