- Sheldon Longley
- Nov 3, 2023
- 0
The sporting discipline of wrestling got underway for The Bahamas at the 19th Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, and it was a short-lived experience for the Bahamian athlete as he fell convincingly on points.
Bahamian Rashji Mackey lost 10-0 to Cuban wrestler Yuriesk Torreblanca in the quarterfinals of the 86 kilogram (kg) class of men’s freestyle wrestling at the Centro Nacional de Entrenamiento Olímpico in Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile. He fell by VSU, dubbed victory by technical superiority.
In sailing, Joshua Higgins was back on the waters of the Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico in Algarrobo, Chile, competing in the Dinghy – ILCA 7 event. He is the only Bahamian competing in sailing, representing the country in the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) Dinghy class.
Higgins, a native of Harbour Island, placed 17th in the ninth race and 15th in the 10th race of the series and remains in the 17th position out of 22 sailors with 177 total points, 154 net. In the previous eight races of the series, he finished 17th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 19th, 20th, 19th and 15th. The worst finish is thrown out, leading to the 154 net points so far.
Stefano Peschiera Loret de Mola, of Peru, continues to lead the competition with 30 total points, 22 net, Clemente Seguel Lacámara, of Chile, remains in second place with 48 total points, 32 net, and Juan Ignacio Maegli Agüero, competing for the Independent Athletes Team, sits in third with 42 total points, 35 net.
The Independent Athletes Team is a group of athletes from Guatemala, whose national Olympic committee was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and therefore not allowed to compete under the Guatemalan flag.
In sailing, the lower the score, the higher an athlete finishes on the placing chart.
The Bahamas’ final two athletes competing in athletics at the Coliseo del Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez in Santiago will experience competition today. They are Donald Thomas in the men’s high jump and Rhema Otabor in the women’s javelin. Thomas will be the 11 jumper among the 13 competitors and Otabor will be the seventh thrower in the field of 11 athletes.
Also today, the golf competition will get underway. Nolan Johnson will represent the country in the men’s individual round and Bahamas Golf Federation (BGF) President Lynford Miller will serve as his caddie. The golf competition will take place at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago.
The Bahamas is currently in a four-way tie for 26th with Bermuda, Barbados and El Salvador in the medal standings with one bronze medal, courtesy of Lamar Taylor in the men’s 50m free in swimming. Taylor finished third in that event in a national record time of 22.13 seconds.
The Bahamas has 20 athletes who are competing in six disciplines at the games – tennis, sailing, swimming, athletics, golf and wrestling. There are nine swimmers, five athletes in athletics, three tennis players, one sailor, one golfer and one wrestler.
The Pan American Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports and is the oldest continental games in the world. Competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas every four years in the summer before each Summer Olympic Games. The 2023 Pan American Games are being held in Santiago, Chile, making Chile a first-time host of the event.