María Fernanda Zapata Manjarrés and Lina María Arbeláez Duque, visual judokas attached to the Quindiana League for the Visually Impaired –

Author : Writing sports

María Fernanda Zapata Manjarrés and Lina María Arbeláez Duque, from the Quindiana League for the Visually Impaired, will perform at the 2023 Youth Parapan American Games. They are accompanied by Professor Juan Manuel González.

María Fernanda Zapata Manjarrés and Lina María Arbeláez Duque, visual judokas attached to the Quindiana League for the Visually Impaired, They concentrated yesterday with the Colombian team that will perform in the 2023 Youth Parapan American Games, which began yesterday and will go until June 12 in Bogotá.

More than a thousand para-athletes from 26 countries in the Americas will take action. “It is the first time that Quindian female athletes represent the country in these fairs,” explained Professor Juan Manuel González, that from May 28 until yesterday he was with his athletes in a process of adaptation to the height of the capital.

The Colombian delegation, with the coffee makers present, received the Colombian flag from the Minister of Sports, Astrid Bibiana Rodríguez. Athletes between 12 and 21 years of age, who have some type of physical, visual and intellectual disability, will participate in the continental jousts.

The capital of Cundinamarca, which is hosting for the second time, in this fifth edition of the Games, will bring together 20 delegations that provide a total of 739 para-athletes from 20 countries. Previous editions took place in the cities of Barquisimeto (2005), Buenos Aires (2013) and Sao Paulo (2017).

In addition to the Minister of Sport, the event was attended by Camilo Iguarán, Vice Minister of Sport; Julio César Ávila, president of the Colombian Paralympic Committee, and Sara Vargas, multi-medalist gold medalist in swimming and chosen as the best parathlete in the past Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

During the delivery of the patriotic symbol, the minister expressed her gratitude to the Colombian delegation for their dedication and effort, and affirmed that Paralympic sport is a sign of equality and equity, values ​​that must be present in all areas of life. . The portfolio leader added that sport will always be a tool that transforms life for the benefit of all.

The event concluded with the statements of the swimmer, Sara Vargas, who thanked everyone present and said she felt very proud to receive the Colombian flag, indicating that they had been waiting for this contest for a long time and that now it will take place at home, she is sure. that will make history

action today

Yesterday the delegations stayed, but the V Youth Parapan American Games Bogotá 2023 will begin today. The organizers confirmed that the delegations will have 58 field assistants (guides in athletics, football for the blind and boccia).

The athletes will represent the Dominican Republic, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Honduras, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Jamaica, Aruba, El Salvador, Uruguay, Cuba and Colombia.

Likewise, 438 officials attend, including medical, administrative and managerial staff, as well as sports ministers from 6 countries, 17 heads of the national Paralympic committees and around a thousand volunteers.

The 12 sports categories are made up for PC soccer, soccer for the blind, para-swimming, para-athletics, para-table tennis, wheelchair tennis, sitting volleyball, judo, wheelchair basketball, goal ball, boccia and parapowerlifting.

The competitions will take place in 8 sports facilities: Palacio de los Deportes de Bogotá, Simón Bolívar Aquatic Complex, El Salitre Coliseum, Compensar Synthetic Courts, Bogotá High Performance Center, UDS Athletics Track, El Campincito Stadium and Cayetano Coliseum Canizares.

In this fifth edition, the winners of the modalities will be awarded 251 gold medals, of which para-athletics stands out with 142 finals, followed by para-swimming with 39 and para-weights with 29.

This is the most important multi-sport event that Bogota will hold, after holding the Bolivarian Games (1938), the 2004 National Sports Games and the second version of the Youth Parapan American Games in 2009.

Bogota again

Bogotá thus becomes the first city to repeat the Games venue. The first ones were held in 2005 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, with the participation of 10 countries and were won by the local.

Bogotá hosted the second edition of the jousts in 2009, with 13 countries. The third Games were in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2013, with 13 countries; the fourth edition was held in 2017 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 13 countries in 12 sports, and Brazil imposed its hierarchy.

Facing the Paranationals

For the Quindians, this appointment will serve as preparation for their great challenge of 2023, their participation in the VI Paranational Sports Games, to be held between December 2 and 10, 2023 in the departments of Risaralda, Quindío, Caldas and Valle del Cauca.

In these, the competitions will be held in chess, wheelchair basketball, billiards, boccia, bowling, fencing, 5-a-side football, 7-a-side football, soccer, futsal, goalball, judo, athletics, swimming, powerlifting, triathlon, paracycling, rugby wheelchair, table tennis, wheelchair tennis, shooting sport and sitting volleyball.

Athletes between 12 and 21 years of age, who have some type of physical, visual and intellectual disability, will participate in the continental jousts.