GRIMALT’S COUSINS WIN BRONZE AT SANTIAGO 2023

The Team Panam Sports ambassadors won their second Pan American medal, adding to the gold obtained at Lima 2019.

In the fight for bronze, the Chilean beach volleyball team beat the American duo Logan Webber and Hagen Smith 2-1 (21-14, 18-21, 15-12). After this triumph, cousins ​​Esteban and Marco Grimalt took third place on the podium at Santiago 2023. The Team Panam Sports ambassadors won their second Pan American medal after gold at Lima 2019.

“We are super happy. Even though we came for gold, we failed to qualify for the final. We quickly turned the page and the goal became this medal and getting on the podium. We had experienced the same situation in Toronto, where we had seen the rewards from the outside and, on this occasion, we did not want to repeat that. We wanted to give this joy to all the people who accompanied us here and to those who watch us on social networks, streaming or on television,” said Marco Grimalt.

“Today we woke up with the desire to win the bronze medal and today we were able to offer this medal to the people. This triumph is dedicated to my family and all the people who were here. In defeat, they supported us even more, that is priceless. We are very grateful for all this love, said Esteban Grimalt.

The Grimalt cousins’ journey to the bronze medal began in the group stage against the Nicaraguan national team, Rubén Mora and Dany López, in which the Chileans won 2-0 (21-13, 21-17 ). In their second match, they beat Paraguayans Gonzalo Melgarejo and Giuliano Massares, 2-0 (21-18, 21-13). In the final match of Group A, they faced Mexicans Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia, beating them 2-0 (21-17, 21-16).

Thanks to their respective victories, they qualify as leaders of group A and reach the quarter-finals. They then faced Canadians Alexander Russell and Jake Macneil, whom they beat 2-0 (23-21, 21-18). After advancing to the semifinals, they faced fifth-ranked Andre Loyola and George Souto of Brazil, where they lost 2-0 (13-21, 17-21).

Written by Sebastián León and Pablo Soto