Photo: COA Press
The Argentine delegation already has its flag-bearing representatives for the opening ceremony of the next Pan American Games Santiago de Chile, which will begin on Friday, October 20.
For the first time, in a competition of this nature, there will be a champion athlete in the men’s field and another among women, a modality that began at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
The process of electing the Argentine flag bearers had two stages. In the first instance, the National Federations could propose two candidate athletes from their respective sports, one male and one female.
Then, the candidatures received were submitted to the Athletes Commission of the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA), which put them up for consideration and election by its members through a voting system.
The four chosen athletes (two men and two women) who were preselected to carry the flag were informed to the board of directors, which evaluated proposals and defined the names finally distinguished.
Moneta is a key member of the Argentine sevens rugby team, Los Pumas ‘7, which has already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old winger from Buenos Aires was a key element in coach Santiago Gómez Cora’s team that won the bronze medal in the last Olympics. Tokyo 2020, held in 2021.
He also won the gold medal at the Asunción 2022 South American Games, where he became captain of the team.
The Pan American Fire is lit. ????????????
With an incredible ceremony, the long-awaited lighting of the Pan American Fire took place, which will be transferred to Chile. ????????????
And you saw it LIVE and direct on the Panam Sports Channel. ????⭐️ pic.twitter.com/tPK1UNL2sq
— Panam Sports (@PanamSports) September 29, 2023
The rugby player born in the town of San Andrés concluded the season of the IRB world sevens circuit, with three gold medals (Hamilton, Vancouver and London) and closed his work as the second highest scorer in the competition, with 47 conquests.
Moneta also stood on the podium in six other stages of the World Tour: five silver medals in Cape Town 2018, Malaga 2022, Los Angeles 2022, Singapore 2022 and Toulouse 2023, and one bronze in Seville 2022.
Meanwhile, Ameghino, 43 years old, participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, where she placed thirteenth in the K4 500 and eighteenth in the K1 200.
The kayaker from Ensenada is the woman with the most medals won in Argentine history.
Ameghino debuted in Winnipeg 1999 and at the following Pan American competition, Santo Domingo 2003, he won two bronze medals in K2 500 and K4 500.
In Guadalajara 2011, the Buenos Aires native achieved silver in K2 500 and bronze in K1 200; while in Lima 2019 she became Pan American champion in K1 200 and was third in K4 500.
#Santiago2023 Sabrina Ameghino and Marcos Moneta will be the flag bearers of the Argentine delegation at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games! ????????????
????https://t.co/jq0Tfjuw1p#EquipoARG ???????? #VamosArgentina pic.twitter.com/Etc4TgEdmo
— ARG Olympic Committee (@PrensaCOA) September 29, 2023
The cyclist Walter Pérez and the sailor Javier Conte had been the Argentine standard bearers in the previous continental competitions in Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019, respectively.
In this way, both athletes will wear the light blue and white insignia when the national delegation enters the National Stadium in Santiago on October 20, when the 2023 Pan American Games are formally inaugurated.
2023-09-29 22:09:00
#Argentina #athletes #flag #bearers #delegation #Santiago
