The world champion at 400 meters, Marileidy Paulino brought home a trunk-load of medals. She won two golds, and a silver and a bronze. No Dominican athlete has ever done this. She won gold in the 200 meters, gold in the 4 x 400 mixed relay, silver in the 4 x 400 women’s relay and bronze in the 4×100 women’s relay.
Her two gold medals make her the first-ever Dominican athlete to win two golds in these games. She also is due RD$1.0 million in promised Dominican government cash awards for her efforts.
Due to training issues related to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, her trainer Yaseen Perez did not feel that it was a good idea for Paulino to compete in the 400 meter event in Santiago 2023. It is most likely if she had run the event, she would have brought home a fifth medal.
But Marileidy was not the only Dominican to stand on the podium in the final three days of the regional championship. Marysable Sanyu, from La Romana, won the bronze in the women’s high jump; Jose Gonzalez won silver in the men’s 200 meters, and Rosa Angelica Ramirez won silver in the women’s shot putt; and the men’s 4 x 400 relay team won a bronze.
In karate, Larry Aracena won a bronze in kata (forms) and Pamela Rodriguez also won a bronze in kumite (combat); in sailing, Adeury Corniel came in third for a bronze medal in Kite Formula.
Overall, the Dominican Republic, with 42 athletes (166 men and 76 women and 10th in number of participating athletes) came in 11th place. Dominican athletes won 32 medals, eight short of the Lima 2019 Pan Am results but within the predicted results issued by the Dominican Olympic Committee.
The medal breakdown for the Santiago de Chile Pan Am Games for the DR was eight gold compared to 11 gold in 2019, seven silver compared to 12 in 2019 and 17 bronze compared to 17 in 2019. The DR had been 9th in the medals scoreboard in the 2019 Pan Am Games. The country placed 11th in the 2023 Games.
Diario Libre concludes elite sports are not doing well in the country and calls attention to the status quo at the Ministry of Sports, the Dominican Olympic Committee and its sports federations.
Dominican athletes won gold in:
Athletics: 200 m: Marileidy Paulino
Athletics 100 m: Jose Arnaldo Gonzalez
Athletics 4 x 400 m mixed relay: Ezequiel Suarez, Anabel Medina, Roberto King and Marileidy Paulino
Boxing men’s 51 kg: Yunior Alcantara Reyes
Gymnastics men’s vault: Audrys Nin Reyes
Weightlifting women’s 49 kg: Dahiana Ortiz
Taekwondo Women’s Kyorugi Team: Katherine Rodriguez, Madelyn Rodriguez, Mayerlin Mejia
Volleyball Dominican women’s team: Candida Arias, Lisvel Eve, Vielka Peralta, Brenda Castillo, Niverka Marte, Yokaty Perez, Yonkaira Peña, Bethania de la Cruz, Brayelin Martinez, Jineiry Martinez, Gaila Gonzalez, Larysmer Martinez
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El Dia
7 November 2023