The Panama Gymnastics Team is Training for the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay
Damaris Young, from the COP, made it clear that the delegation’s main objective for Asunción 2025 is to improve on what was achieved in the previous games. Panama aims to surpass the five bronze medals it won in Cali in 2021. Panama will present a delegation of 34 athletes for the Asunción 2025 Junior Pan American Games, comprised of 17 women and 17 men, who will compete in 14 sports and 16 events. They will aim to surpass the record of five bronze medals achieved at Cali 2021. The list includes figures such as Olympic swimmer Emily Santos, taekwondo athlete Ian Romero, fencer Isaac Dorati, and wrestler Yusneiry Agrazal.
Although the president of the Panamanian Olympic Committee (COP), Damaris Young, highlighted each of the athletes who make up the Panamanian squad in individual disciplines, she emphasized the women’s gymnastics team. “The United States is certainly there, but I think the work that gymnastics has done also allows us to dream of these Games,” said the Panamanian Olympic leader. Gymnast Ana Lucía Beitia and fencer Isaac Dorati were named Panama’s flag bearers for the 2025 Asunción Pan American Youth Games.
The Figures
Swimmer Emily Santos, who currently represents Virginia Tech University in the United States, participated in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and also in the 2022 Rosario South American Games in Argentina. Recently, Santos set a new national record in the 200m breaststroke, stopping the clock at 2:30.10 during the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale A Final, surpassing her previous long course (50m) mark of 2:30.93. Another notable name is Ian Romero, a taekwondo practitioner in the Kyorugui (combat) modality. Born in Mexico to a Panamanian mother, Romero has won medals in almost every tournament leading up to these Games. She qualified for Asunción 2025 after winning a bronze medal at the PanAm Series Final Under-22 in Querétaro, Mexico.
Also standing out is fencer Isaac Dorati, a key figure in Panamanian fencing, who recently completed his training at the World Fencing Championships in Georgia. Among her achievements is the gold medal at the Rosario 2022 South American Youth Games. Wrestler Yusneiry Agrazal, originally from the Panamanian province of Veraguas, is another figure to watch. In Rosario 2022 she won the bronze medal in the -49 kg freestyle category, after beating Peruvian Anneth Huamán by superiority (12-2). Agrazal secured his qualification for Asunción 2025 last year by winning the gold medal in the 50 kilogram beach wrestling event at the U-23 Pan American Wrestling Championships, held in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia.
A Bronze Cali
Panama won five bronze medals at the 2021 Cali Games. Bronze medalists were Yorlenis Milagros Morán Sánchez in the women’s 50 kg wrestling category and Max Antonio Madrid De León in the men’s 97 kg category; Julio Ernesto Arias in the individual foil fencing category; and Bernhard Tyler Christianson in the men’s 100 m breaststroke swimming category. The Panamanians competed in the Colombian city with 42 athletes and placed 27th in the competition, which brought together 41 countries.
Improve in Asunción
Young made it clear that the delegation’s main objective for Asunción 2025 is to improve on what was achieved in the past games. “Panama hopes to surpass what we did in Cali in these games, which is no easy task,” he said. Young emphasized that, although Asunción’s sports program is more modest than Cali’s, “the athletes have rigorously followed their training processes.” He also argued that the implementation of the National Coaches Program, along with other initiatives, allows for optimism and enthusiasm regarding both its development and the results it can achieve in the games.
Little League World Series in Williamsport Pennsylvania – Panama Ready to Debut against Australia
A Panama debut against Australia happens on August 13 in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, where national team manager Elpidio Pinto adds that he hopes to get off on the right foot. “The goal isn’t just to go to Williamsport for a walk, we’re going to compete with the other teams, to seek a positive result for Panama,” said Pinto, who made it clear that the other objective is to reach the international final, as the next objective. Pinto didn’t elaborate on who Panama’s starter would be for that match against Australia. He added that he has a plan in place, where he wants to use four or five pitchers to seek that first victory in the tournament. Then, he’ll focus on the second game, gradually building up his game.
It should be remembered that in the rotation, Panama has shooters assigned such as: Emmanuel Flores, Eugenio Barrios and Ángel Bonilla. The manager, who will be in Williamsport for the second time, expressed his joy at representing Panama in the Little League World Series. The first opportunity was in 2018, but representing Latin America. According to the Panamanian team director, these players have been playing together since they were 7 or 8 years old, winning national tournaments, and now, in the U12 division, they have earned the right to go to Williamsport.
The players were given a lot of offensive work, including breaking balls, curveballs, and changeups, all with the goal of being able to decipher opposing pitchers, he explained. In Pinto’s opinion, if Panama can count on good pitching and defense, they have a good chance of winning games, and he emphasized that in training, he countered. The Panamanian team was training at the Mariano Rivera Academy in preparation for their participation in the World Cup in Williamsport. They will travel to the United States Thursday August 7 to face Australia on August 13.
