Lopez, Hernandez, Pineda and Valencia top qualifying at Barranquilla 2018

Compound archers Sara Lopez and Roberto Hernandez and recurve archers Daniel Pineda and Alejandra Valencia took top seedings on the opening day of competition at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.

World number one Lopez scored 699 out of a possible 720 points to lead the compound women’s ranking round on home soil in conditions that she described as “very windy”.

“The competition today was very long and the weather has been tough. Half of the team is sick, so it’s been difficult to compete like this,” said Sara. Colombian compound coach Heber Mantilla is recovering after being hospitalised earlier in the week.

Lopez finished the ranking round 15 points ahead of Mexico’s Linda Ochoa-Anderson (684), with Andrea Becerra (679) seeding third.

“My first half [of 351] wasn’t as good as I would have expected and I didn’t have a good finish in the second one [of 348], which cost me not having a better score,” said Sara. “I still qualified first and I’m happy with that.”

El Salvador’s Hernandez, one of the two archers in Barranquilla to shoot over 700 points on the 72-arrow 50-metre round, qualified first in the compound men’s event with 702.

Pineda led the recurve men’s ranking round with 663 points to collect a second top seeding for host nation Colombia, while Mexico’s Valencia took the women’s pole with 657 points with teammates ahead of teammates Aida Roman (654) and Ana Paula Vazquez (648).

Mixed team eliminations took place straight after qualification.

Mexico and Cuba made the recurve pairs gold medal match, leaving Colombia and Venezuela to contest bronze.

In the compound mixed team event, Puerto Rico and Guatemala shoot for gold, and Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago – who upset top seed Colombia in the quarterfinals, 149 to 146 – for bronze.

Team finals in Barranquilla take place on 30-31 July. Mixed team and individual medal matches take place on 2-3 August.

The 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games takes place in Barranquilla, Colombia on 29 July to 3 August.