In Asunción 2025, Mexico secures 16 Pan American berths

Lía and Mía Cueva (diving), Carolina Arzate (artistic swimming), and Dafne Juárez (sprint) are just a few of the promising champions in international competitions.

The Mexican junior delegation is among the top 5 in the Pan American region (which includes 41 member countries of the Pan American Sports Organization Panam Sports).

The 2nd Junior Pan American Games in Asunción 2025 were the first step toward the Olympic cycle leading to Los Angeles 2028, and Mexico again placed fourth in the medal table, just as it did at the first edition in Cali, Colombia in 2021.

In Asunción, Paraguay, the tournament collected 129 medals, of which 29 were gold, 45 silver, and 55 bronze. Cali-Valle 2021 finished with 46 gold, 78 silver, and 48 bronze medals, for a total of 172. Brazil dominated the current edition with 175 medals (70 gold, 50 silver, and 55 bronze), the United States came in second with 142 (54-42-46), and Colombia was third with 115 (48-27-40).

In addition, Mexico secured 16 spots at the 2027 Lima Pan American Games in sports such as mountain biking, road cycling, swimming, diving, taekwondo, athletics, wakeboarding, and karate.

The Mexican diving team was crowned champion in the diving competitions at the Second Games, finishing with four gold medals, six silver, and two bronze, for a total of 12 medals.

In artistic swimming, Mexico rounded out its participation with three gold medals—that is, all of the gold medals awarded at the Olympic Aquatic Center in Paraguay. The mixed team acrobatic routine retained the title it won four years ago in Cali-Valle, Colombia.

“This is after many months of hard work and something we love. Routine is something we love, and we really enjoy it. This gold medal makes me very happy because coming back with a gold medal lets me know we're doing our job well,” said World Juniors Fernanda Carmona.

The other discipline Mexico dominated above the Pan American region was diving, finishing with four gold medals, six silver, and two bronze, for a total of 12 medals. Kenny Zamudio secured the spots for Lima 2027 in the men's 10m platform and David Vázquez in the 3m springboard.

On the other hand, Mexican athletics finished with the highest number of medals of the entire delegation. It totaled 19 medals: four gold, five silver, and 10 bronze, placing fourth overall at the Pan American Games. The gold medals went to the women's event, with four first places; two went to Dafne Juárez (1500 and 5000 meters), who set a record in the latter event and qualified for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games.

Ximena Serrano and Antonia Sánchez were crowned champions in the women's 20km and 400m hurdles events, respectively, also securing their place in the next continental competition.

In athletics, Cuba (13), Canada (15) and Colombia (14) occupied the top positions in the medal table, due to the number of gold medals obtained.

The next Junior competition will be in 2029. Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro has said they will seek to host the event.

“We love Guadalajara. We were there a few years ago for the Pan American Games, and they did a fantastic job. Mexico is a tremendous player for Panam Sports, both athletically and administratively, so we're going to continue moving forward with the same commitment we have in Guadalajara, and we have the same commitment as well,” said Neven Ilic, president of Panam Sports.