Four months before the start of the Lima 2019 Games, the VIDENA’s Athletics Stadium is almost ready to receive more than 700 athletes who will arrive from all over the continent. The competition track has already been installed and its nine lanes have been traced, even before the delivery date initially announced for the Peruvian Athletics Federation.
The final conditioning works and the installation of the temporary grandstands are still pending. Meanwhile, the warm-up track is ready to be used by national athletes since April.
This was demonstrated today during the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee’s official visit to the VIDENA, at which Movistar TV was announced as the official cable television medium for the Pan American and Parapan American Games.
THE RED TRACK
The athletic track announced today is red and top-quality materials were used to install it, similar to those used at the London 2012 Olympic Games. It will also be used at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Natural grass has been laid in the center for throwing events.
The Athletics Track passed the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) certification tests, having undergone lab and delimitation tests. In this sense, the facility will be able to host first-rate competitions because of the world-class infrastructure it will have available from now on.
The Athletics Stadium will have a capacity of more than 10 thousand spectators during the Pan American and Parapan American Games. Once the Games are over, the final capacity will be six thousand people. The seats have already been installed; some of them, such as those located on the main grandstand, are under a roof. The light towers are in place and are fully operational for night competitions.
The renovated athletics track is located in the main venue and heart of the Games: the National Sports Village. The VIDENA will host 10 competitions: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, handball, judo, badminton, table tennis, artistic skating, bowling and squash. Additionally, it will host Para athletics, Para swimming, wheelchair basketball, Para powerlifting, judo, Para badminton, Para table tennis and Para track cycling during the Parapan American Games.
ABOUT LIMA 2019
The Lima 2019 Games’ Opening Ceremony will be held at the National Stadium on July 26, 2019. This continental event will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and delegations from the Americas.
There will be 17 days of competitions and ceremonies, between July 26 and August 11, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues like VIDENA, Villa María Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 62 disciplines, where athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 23 disciplines will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Parapan American Games will gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. Competitions will take place between August 23 and September 1, 2019. Fourteen sports will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
About Panam Sports
Panam Sports (formerly known as Pan American Sports Organization - PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games and its structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter. Panam Sports is the leader of sports and the Olympic Movement in the Americas, and it encourages sports development and supports the work of the 41 National Olympic Committees members of the organization in order to inspire more world-class performances and the next generation of athletes across our region.
IPC and APC
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the international governing body of the Paralympic movement. The committee’s objective is to organize the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games and to act as the International Federation of nine sports, in order to supervise and coordinate the World Championships and other competitions.
The Americas Paralympic Committee (APC) was established in August 1997 with the aim of creating a Para sport governing body for the Americas. Since 2007, the Parapan American Games are held in the same city of the Pan American Games.