Panama City, April 27 — Panama hosts the Pan American Weightlifting Championship from today until May 1, with the participation of athletes from 24 countries.
For this competition, which will be held at the Atheyna Bylon Training Center in this capital, Venezuela and Colombia are the delegations with the largest number of representatives, both with 20 (10 men and 10 women).
According to the Pan American Weightlifting Confederation (CPP), among the weightlifters, Colombian Mari Sánchez stands out, silver medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics and bronze medalist at the World Championship last year.
Also prominent in the same category is Ecuadorian Bella Paredes, who has runner-up titles at Pan Americans and a third place at the World Championship in Riyadh 2023.
Also noteworthy is the performance of Udelina Mejías (Dominican Republic) in the 86 kilograms category, world and Pan American medalist, and finished fifth at the last Olympic Games.
For the +86 kg competition, they also praise the participation of Marifélix Sarría, from Cuba, who at just 21 years old has three silver medals achieved at the 2025 World Championship in Førde, Norway.
Also outstanding is Lisseth Ayoví, from Ecuador, champion of the 2023 Pan American Weightlifting Championship and obtained the bronze at the Pan American Games in Chile, that same year. In the competition, men's division, will be the Olympic medalist at Tokyo 2020, Venezuelan Keydomar Valenilla (94 kg) and Mexican Vicente Montoya (71 kg), champion at the 2023 Pan American Championship, with his silver in total (then in the 67 kg category).
The CPP specified in a statement that the women's divisions called in the event are 48, 53, 58, 63, 69, 77, 86, and +86 kilograms. The men will compete in 60, 65, 71, 79, 88, 94, 110, and +110.
The event is a qualifier for the World Championship and will allow registering marks required for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo.
