Tico judoka wins historic gold medal in Pan American

Sebastián Sancho will go down in the records as the first Costa Rican judoka to win a gold medal in a Pan American and Oceania championship, the National Olympic Committee (CON) reported Friday.

This was achieved by Sancho in the 60 kg category, in Lima, Peru, where the event was held.

The Tico first defeated Jacob Moore from the United States, then José Ramos from Guatemala, who even represented the chapines at the last Tokyo Olympics.

In the semifinals, the national repeated the Ippon in just 45 seconds against Iván Salas from Venezuela.

In the dispute for gold, the youngest of the Sancho brothers faced Cuban Danny Porte Valdiviezo. In the first minutes the national took the lead with a Wazari and ended up defeating the islander through an Ippon.

The Pan American and Oceania Senior Judo Championship Lima 2022, has the participation of some 700 judokas from 25 countries.

This year it was held in conjunction with Oceania due to the fact that the countries of that continent could not hold the tournament last year and add points in the ranking for the next international competitions.