PR gymnasts win 3 medals, including 2 golds at CAC Games

Paola Vázquez earned a bronze medal for Puerto Rico in the 100-meter hurdles. (COPUR)

Gold & silver assured for islanders in table tennis mixed doubles

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rican delegation earned several medals and qualifications for finals, and turned in standout performances across multiple disciplines on Wednesday at the 25th Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games (Santo Domingo 2026).

Artistic gymnastics led the day with three medals for Puerto Rico. Nelson Alberto Guilbe Morales claimed gold on the pommel horse, Francisco Ismael Vélez Beléndez added another gold on the rings, and José Antonio López Martínez won bronze in the floor exercise.

With those results, Puerto Rico brought its gymnastics medal tally to four: two gold, one silver and one bronze.

The island delegation added four more medals in track & field. Alysbeth Félix claimed gold in the long jump, Víctor Ortiz won silver in the 5,000 meters, Paola Vázquez took bronze in the 100-meter hurdles and Carlos Vilches added another bronze in the 1,500 meters following a disqualification that altered the official result. Félix also ended the day as the provisional leader in the women’s heptathlon.

Thirteen-year-old Puerto Rican skateboarder Esmeralda Butler took gold in the women’s street event. (COPUR)

The men’s handball team secured at least a silver medal by defeating Mexico 32-31 and qualifying for the final, while the women’s volleyball team beat Mexico in straight sets to advance to the semifinals.

In table tennis, Puerto Rico guaranteed both the gold and silver medals in mixed doubles, setting up a final between the pairs of Adriana Díaz and Ángel Naranjo against Brianna Burgos and Steven Moreno. Additionally, Enrique Ríos, Steven Moreno and Ángel Naranjo advanced to the Round of 16 in the men’s singles tournament.

In boxing, Stephanie Piñeiro advanced to the 70 kilogram (kg) final, securing at least a silver medal, while Coralis Cruz won bronze in the 57kg category. In weightlifting, Asia González claimed the bronze medal in the 53kg division.

A pair of Puerto Rico skateboarders, meanwhile, won gold and silver for their first-ever medals at the CAC Games.

Thirteen-year-old Esmeralda Butler took gold in the women’s street event with a score of 109.97, while Gabriel Lavallee locked up the silver medal in the men’s competition by posting a score of 140.22.

Both athletes concluded their participation by winning 

In other events, several sailing competitors held podium positions heading into the final day, shooting wrapped up its penultimate day of action, and Puerto Rico fell 9-3 to Nicaragua in the baseball Super Round -- a result that complicated the island team’s hopes of contending for the gold medal.

As of Thursday morning, Puerto Rico was in sixth place in the medal count -- ranked according to gold medals won -- with 88 total medals (23 gold, 28 silver, 37 bronze). The Dominican Republic, with 98 total medals (24 gold, 21 silver, 53 bronze), took over fifth place.

Mexico led the count with 316 total medals (139 gold, 92 silver, 85 bronze), followed by Colombia (209 total, 69 gold, 77 silver, 63 bronze), Cuba (116 total, 40 gold, 33 silver, 43 bronze) and Venezuela (150, 25 gold, 48 silver, 77 bronze).