The Brazilian Izabela Rodrigues debuted in the Panamerican Games with a discus throw of almost 60 meters, which was enough to win gold and end the hegemony of Cuba in this discipline in the last four editions.
Finalist of Tokyo 2020 and current South American champion, Rodrigues won gold with his initial throw of 59.63 meters on Monday on the first day of track and field athletics at the sports event in Santiago National Stadium.
Silver also went to the Brazilian. Andressa de Oliveira (59.29) and Jamaican Samantha Hall (59.14) completed the podium.
É DOBRADINHA NO ATLETISMO! 🥇🥈
No lançamento de disco, Izabela Rodrigues e Andressa Oliveira atingem 59.63m e 59.29m, respectivamente, e conquistam mais uma dobradinha do 🇧🇷 em Santiago 2023!
É só o começo do Atletismo! 💚💛
📸: Alexandre Loureiro/COB
▶️:… pic.twitter.com/BnDfkuNXx5
— Time Brasil (@timebrasil) October 30, 2023
“I am very proud of myself for winning a gold medal in my first Pan American Games, said the winner, with her impeccably dyed red hair standing out from the other competitors in the distance. “It’s great to win Brazil gold and silver,” he added.
However, Rodrigues was not satisfied with the distance of his shots, some way off the personal best of 63.04 meters. “I want better results; I will work to improve them,” he assured.
History of Cuba:
Cuba has mastered this discipline since the 2007 Pan American Games. For the first time since then, he was not on the podium.
Your representatives, Silinda Morales, and Melanie Matheus finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively, one meter shorter than the Pan-American champion.
“The competition was not at the expected level. We could have achieved a medal, but unfortunately, it was not to be Cuba. Matheus is mourning. “Technically, I did some things wrong. I tried to improve it with every release. The score was below expectations,” he added.
