At 32, Colombian Mariana Pajón takes a dim view of the end of a glorious BMX career. At 13 years old, Canadian skateboarder Fay De Fazio Ebert is just getting started.

Both lit up the Pan American Games on Sunday with their victories.

A two-time Olympic champion, Pajón won her third title in a Pan American event by winning the women’s BMX race at Peñalolén Park, located east of Santiago.

Ebert, for his part, established himself on the National Stadium’s Urban Sports Esplanade, demonstrating his prodigious talent with skateboarding by winning the women’s park.

The Toronto teen has pure self-confidence: She went out to compete with a feather in her protective helmet. From whom? Well, his pet, a duck named Richard. But Ebert takes his competitions very seriously and trains four hours a day, six days a week.

He is not at all intimidated by having to face older opponents. “In my country, I had to skate against young people of twenty or thirty years old; once, I did it against someone who was 50 years old.”

Pajón, the “Atomic Ant” of Medellín, arrived in Santiago after a discreet season and with doubts due to the state of his right elbow.

But the Olympic champion from London 2012 and Rio 2016 dominated all her events until the final and won one of the three gold medals that the Colombian delegation celebrated on Sunday in Santiago.

“It was a very important accomplishment for me this year and I came out and accomplished it,” Pajón said. “This year hasn’t been easy because of the surgeries, but at the moment I don’t think I could last another round, that’s what I’m telling you.”

This is the third Pan American gold medal for Pajón, also champion at Guadalajara 2011 and Lima 2019.

“I’m passionate about it and I still feel it and that’s why I’m still here,” he concluded.

THE MEDAL BAR

For the second day in a row, American swimmers won four gold medals and the continental superpower further widened its gap at the top of the medal table. They also celebrated the victory of their women’s team, with Jordan Chiles as their stronghold, in the all-around artistic gymnastics competition.

After two days, the United States sets the tone with 20 gold medals and a total of 46 medals.

Mexico remained second after increasing their gold haul to 10 and leaving them with a total of 18.

Citlali Moscote opened Sunday with her victory in the women’s marathon, while Kevin Berlin and Randal Willars earned Mexico’s third diving gold by winning the synchronized 10-meter platform. Taekwondo won two more titles and was the delegation’s most successful sport – five in total – after the mixed pair of William Arroyo and Seo Hyun Lee won in poomsae and 67kg’s Leslie Soltero won the victory in the 67 kg division.

Canada is in third place with nine gold medals, followed by Brazil with five.

Colombia presented its golden column. Besides Pajón, Walter Vargas was proclaimed champion of the men’s cycling time trial and Yenny Álvarez did so in the 59 kilo category lifting a total of 228 kilos to set a Pan-American record.

Vargas spoiled the first foray into the Pan American Games of Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, the last Olympic road running champion.

THE PHRASEMariana Pajón: “It is becoming more and more difficult to achieve something. “You can’t imagine how I ride, it’s very painful and you wonder what you’re doing or if you’ve gone crazy.”

THE DATAAfter its two most recent victories in taekwondo, Mexico took first place in the sport’s historic medal table at the Pan American Games. The Mexicans were tied with the United States with 48 medals. Today, Mexico has 53 medals and the United States has 51.

AND AFTERBrazilian Rebeca Andrade will be the main host of the individual competition on Monday. Andrade won silver in the team competition. Earlier this month, she beat American superstar Simone Biles to win vault gold at the World Championships in Antwerp.