The American Hannah Roberts and the Argentine José Augusto Torres dominated in the women’s and men’s sections, respectively, the BMX Free Sytle competition, held on a track located in the National Stadium of Santiago de Chile, which practically concluded the 19th edition of the Panamerican Games.
Roberts, silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and multiple world champion, confirmed her favoritism and beat the Chilean Macarena Pérez in the final, who achieved a creditable second place, while the bronze went to the Venezuelan Katherine Díaz.
There were eight athletes who participated in the skills competition on the ramps of the track, of which four agreed to compete for the medals.
Unlike the classifications, in which the athletes’ scores from the two rounds were averaged, in the final only the best performance was considered. And Roberts practically assured her victory in the first round, with 81.67 points.
The local Pérez also achieved her best score in her first presentation (72.33), and she could not be surpassed by the Venezuelan Díaz (69) or the Argentine Aanalía Zacarías (62). The latter had qualified for the final in second place, but she was left off the podium.
For its part, among the men, there was an exciting definition, in which the Argentine José Augusto Torres took the gold medal in the men’s BMX Freestyle competition, relegating the Chilean José Manuel Cedano to second place by a difference of just 0.33 points.
The bronze went to the Brazilian Gustavo Batista, while the Venezuelan Daniel Dhers, silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, disappointed with a seventh place.
Unlike the classifications, in which the scores of the two races were averaged, in the final only the best was counted. And Cedano seemed to take the gold when his maneuvers on the ramps gave him a score of 85.67 points.
None of the other seven finalists had surpassed that record until the last one to take to the court, the Argentine Cedano, had a performance that earned him a score of 86.00, that is, barely higher than the Chilean.
The local athlete still had his second race left to try to regain first place. However, he quickly made a mistake that left him without a chance. He even ran the risk of losing the silver, since some competitors were still missing their second round, but none could overcome him. The closest was the Brazilian Batista, with 83.67.
Further behind were Costa Rican Kenneth Tencio, with 80.33; and the Mexican Kevin Peraza, with 80. Special mention for Dhers, who arrived as a favorite but could not have any outstanding round and only finished seventh with 49.33 points.