With a dominating performance, Mexico’s Paola Longoria beat compatriot Montserrat Mejía in straight sets on Tuesday to win her fourth consecutive gold medal in the Pan American Games individual racquetball tournament.
Longoria, who was already the most successful Mexican athlete in the history of continental competitions, finished with 10 gold medals at the Pan American Games, two fewer than Canadian Denise Parker, as the woman with the most medals gold at the Games.
Parker, who competed in archery, finished his career with 15 medals, including 12 gold. Among men, the record belongs to Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira, who won 29 medals, including 15 gold.
Longoria has already won in the singles at Guadalajara 2011, Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019.
Longoria has been one of the most dominant players in her sport. In her best moment as a professional, the Mexican did not lose a single match between May 2011 and October 2014. In addition, she won 11 editions of the United States Open, the most prestigious tournament in racquetball , including last year’s edition.
On paper, Mejía presented a bigger challenge because the Mexican is number one in the world rankings. But Longoria won 3-0.
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