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Mexico’s Quintero, Pizarro of Puerto Rico win 2023 Pan American Games

04 novembre 2023

Santiago, Chile

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Dafne Quintero after winning the Pan American Games.

Dafne Quintero (Mexico) and Jean Pizarro (Puerto Rico) have won the individual compound titles at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

They are the first major titles of either archer’s international career.

“The truth is that I’m so emotional, all day I was just in my process, but… I just didn’t know, with that last arrow, whether it was good or not. My coach said, ‘yes, you’ve won’, and then the emotion came,” said 21-year-old Quintero, who was Pan American Youth Games Champion in Cali last year.

Dafne beat former world number one Alexis Ruiz of the USA in the final.

The pair were tied at 117 after four ends. Ruiz shot a 28 to close, Quintero a perfect 30.

“It was a great match,” said the winner. “But I came here for the gold medal.”

This is Mexico’s first compound title at the Pan Am Games – and Puerto Rico’s first title, full stop.

After upsetting top qualifier Kris Schaff earlier in eliminations, Pizarro held on to beat Schaff’s teammate Sawyer Sullivan in a compound men’s final that saw the US archer struggle in the last end, shooting just 26 points (8-9-9) to waste a one-point lead and hand the Puerta Rican archer – and federation president – the title, 145-144.

“My emotions are just huge,” said Jean, who thanked the Colombian archers he trained with in advance of this event, before turning his praise to his own country.

“This is for Puerto Rico. For all the archers, the young archers, for all of us who train together. It’s for everyone who wants the top. It’s possible. And my mum. I’m so happy, super happy.”

Ranked 14th in the world entering this tournament, Pizarro has delivered a breakthrough result for a team long-promising a big victory on the world stage. Puerto Rico had never had a world championship or major multisport medal before today – and it took an important upset in eliminations to deliver it.

Both of the defending champions entering this event lost in the semifinals and both to the eventual winners, Roberto Hernandez to Pizarro, 144-141, and Sara Lopez to Quintero, 149-146.

Lopez and Jagdeep Singh did pick up compound mixed team gold for Colombia.

Hernandez, meanwhile, won El Salvador’s first gold medal of this multisport event in the compound men’s team – a pairs tournament rather than three-archer squads here – on a morning that saw the USA go otherwise unbeaten.

Competition concludes at the Pan American Games with recurve finals on Sunday in Santiago.