COPUR announces flag-bearer candidates for CAC Games
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (COPUR) President Sara Rosario Vélez announced earlier this week that the COPUR Executive Committee has selected six finalist athletes to be considered as flag-bearers for #EquipoPUR (Team Puerto Rico) at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games, Santo Domingo 2026.
“We have extraordinary athletes who represent the best of Puerto Rican sports. Selecting the finalists was no easy task, as each nominee possesses athletic and personal merits that make them worthy of this distinction,” Rosario Vélez stated in a written release. “We are convinced that the six selected athletes proudly represent the values of Olympism and #EquipoPUR.”
The finalists are: Karla Claudio (softball), Kristen Romano (swimming), Nathalys Ceballos (handball), Darian Cruz (wrestling), Israel Hernández (bowling) and Luis “Tuto” Bermúdez (trap and skeet shooting).
The final decision will rest with the full Puerto Rico Olympic Committee assembly; members will be responsible for selecting the #EquipoPUR flag-bearers via a vote during their regular meeting scheduled for today.
Designating flag-bearers is one of the emblematic traditions of the Puerto Rican Olympic movement. Throughout the history of the Central American and Caribbean Games, the honor has been bestowed upon some of the nation’s most prominent sports figures -- including Angelita Lind, Ineabelle Díaz, José Juan Barea, Aury Cruz and Vanessa García, among other athletes who have had the privilege of carrying the Puerto Rican flag.
The athletes selected as flag-bearers will be officially presented to the media on Thursday. The 25th Central American and Caribbean Games will be held from July 24 to Aug. 8 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, marking a historic edition that commemorates the centennial of the world’s oldest regional multi-sport event.