Mauricio Loaiza won nine gold medals in the South American and Pan-American qualifier in Lima 2027

Published at: 31/08/2026 12:33 PM

Adjusting the loads and without the need to use their possibilities to the fullest, the new jewel of Venezuelan weights, Mauricio Loaiza (110 kg), won the nine gold medals in dispute during the last day of South American competitions and the first Pan-American qualifier for the Lima 2027 Games, to seal Venezuela's triple crown in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Junior World Champion last May in Ismailia, Egypt, Loaiza controlled the start of the three events in which he participated, South American under-20 and adult, and qualified for the Pan American Games with overwhelming success.

In his first 160 kg lift, he already had all three gold medals in his pocket, because in the under-20 the Ecuadorian Vicente Braulio could barely manage 150, and in the grown-ups the Peruvian Diego Velásquez escorted him with 152, and third was his compatriot Arias with 151.

The victory was finally confirmed by the Carabobeño with his second successful chance of 167 and then he failed to lift 172, but the work was already done.

The two-time test also resulted in honey on flakes for the 19-year-old dumbbell, who made his gold debut at the recent Central American Games in Santo Domingo, surpassing his records with 211 kg.

This time, he didn't need to use all his energies, because it was necessary to regulate forces for the upcoming South American Games in Santa Fe, Argentina, where he will once again go to the platform with everything.

For this reason, Loaiza carried out a single 200-kg lift and let his rivals battle each other for second place, which in the U-20 went to the southern Braulio with 180 kg and in adults for the Carabobeño Arias with 195.

His overall total of 367 also made him triple gold, followed by Arias who won a silver double for 346 kg.

In short, Loaiza won the three gold medals in youth, and in the adult South American and Pan-American categories for a total of nine golds, while Arias won four silver and two bronze.

After the last day, Venezuela was crowned in the first qualifier for the Pan American Games in Lima with 26 gold, 10 silver and 4 bronze (40), followed by Brazil (7, 6, 9/22) and Ecuador (6, 14, 10/30).

He also dominated the South American senior championship with 24 golds, 12 silver and 4 bronzes (40) to beat Ecuador (7, 18, 12/37) and Brazil (7, 5, 4/16); and the under-20 with 18 golds and 3 silvers (21), ahead of Ecuador (14, 13, 15/42) and Brazil (7, 12, 3/22).

In total, Venezuela had 68 gold, 25 silver and 8 bronze (101).

Finally, Luis Espinosa (+101 kg) closed the performance of the national delegation by lifting 148 at the start and 185 at the start to total 333 kg, which gave him three silver medals in the under-20 and adult South American categories respectively, and three bronzes in the Pan-American qualifier for a total of nine metals.

The most outstanding athletes' awards in the South American under-20 category went to Ángel Rodríguez (85 kg), owner of nine golds and an equal number of national, South American and world records; and Claudia Rengifo (69 kg), who also swept nine golds, while Keydomar Vallenilla (95 kg) won it in the adult category.

Mazo News Team/MINISTRY OF SPORT