Creole duel! Surfer Rafael “Nono” Pereira bathed in gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games
Photo: MinDeporte Press
Published at: 29/07/2026 11:47 AM
Surfer Rafael “Nono” Pereira won the gold medal in the men's shortboard category at the Santo Domingo 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Pereira scored an impressive 14.84, leaving his compatriot José Joaquín López with a silver score of 10.10 points.
Nono Pereira dominated all his qualifying rounds, in the first presentation he finished at the top of his group with 9.90 points, he also dominated the second round with 7.83 and in the third he was the leader with 13.90. In the semifinal, he beat Costa Rica's Samuel Reidy in a landslide 10.67 by 4.54.
For his part, López led the first round with 10 points, placed second with 12.23 in his next challenge behind Gian Oliva from Quisqueya (15.66), but returned to the top in the third outing, scoring 12.70 and advancing to the semifinals, where he took revenge and defeated Oliva 12 by 10.70 to go to the grand final.
On Tuesday, July 28, the Venezuelan delegation added 26 new medals to the tricolor account: 3 gold medals courtesy of Luis Álvarez in taekwondo, the Mixed Judo Team and Félix Ynojosa in chess. In addition to 9 silver and 14 bronze medals.
Mazo News Team