Lima 2019 delivered the VMT Aquatic Center this afternoon to the Peruvian Swimming Federation in the presence of Prime Minister Salvador del Solar. This center will host the water polo competitions and is located at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center.
This is an important milestone for Lima 2019, as the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center is the first venue to be fully completed for the Pan American and Parapan American Games. Besides the Aquatic Center, 12 stages have been delivered to federations for athletes to prepare for the Lima 2019 Games.
Lima 2019 Organizing Committee President Carlos Neuhaus, Peruvian Sports Institute President Sebastián Suito, Peruvian Swimming Federation President Eduardo Tabini, and Peruvian water polo team members also attended the ceremony.
In this context, the Prime Minister recalled when he was young and represented Peru as a member of the water polo team. “It’s a very special honor to be in this venue, representing the government, to celebrate this achievement and teamwork. Following through with the Games was a brave decision and, thanks to the leadership of Carlos Neuhaus, the organization is now an example of how to face challenges,” he stated.
“Peru will now have the facilities at Villa María del Triunfo with an infrastructure legacy that will be an element of change for the country. The true legacy will not be the courts, but the massive number of young people who will make sports their life’s experience,” he emphasized.
Del Solar was very thrilled about “having the privilege to be close to a pool, just like 30 years ago when I participated in a South American championship. I feel like I can still get in and compete. It is an exciting and special moment, as well as a chance to see many friends with whom I spent time. Lima 2019 is the largest event the country has ever organized, so thank you for the invitation and for continuing to develop water polo. So let’s all play,” Del Solar added.
Meanwhile, Carlos Neuhaus highlighted the delivery of a new stage to athletes. “We’re reaching the finish line because only 74 days are left. All the work that has been done is the result of great efforts. We have work ahead of us that will be intense. All we have pending is to host a good edition of the Games. Before that it was completing the infrastructure projects, and we are achieving it. Now our challenge is to host first-rate Games; the best Pan American Games in the history. The infrastructure projects are our proof, so let’s all play,” stated the President of COPAL.
Likewise, the President of the Peruvian Institute of Sports said Lima 2019 will leave behind “amazing infrastructure. We have no doubt that what was built will mark a before and after in Peruvian sports. It will be a great legacy that will allow us to make a big change in society.”
Finally, Eduardo Tabini pointed out that Peruvian athletes will have the best conditions for training and to make Peru an internationally competitive country. At the end of the ceremony, the Prime Minister visited the baseball and softball stadiums that are already being used by the athletes.
VMT AQUATIC CENTER
The venue in Southern Lima also hosts the rugby, baseball, hockey and softball stadiums, as well as the courts for Basque pelota and Peruvian frontón. All these stages were delivered according to the deadlines established by the organization, and now they are in the optimum conditions for the Peruvian national team to train. In addition to this, the athletics training track at the Athletics Stadium and the Bowling Center at the VIDENA were handed over. The Callao Sports Center, the Miguel Grau Coliseum and the stadium of the National University of San Marcos are ready for Lima 2019.
The Aquatic Center will welcome the best water polo players in America. United States, the current Pan American champion in both categories, arrives in Lima to defend its place, since a direct qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is at risk. That is reason enough to see a top-level competition.
MODERN STAGE
The Aquatic Center is one of the six stages that the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee built at the Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center. The water polo venue has temporary grandstands with capacity for 1000 people, as well as accessible areas for people with an impairment.
It has a pool certified by the International Swimming Federation, suitable for water polo, dressing rooms and showers, a common area for competitors, judges’ zone, first-aid station for athletes and spectators, a mixed zone for accredited journalists, and an anti-doping control area.
ABOUT LIMA 2019
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games is a continental event that will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries, and opens on July 26 at the National Stadium. There will be 17 days of competitions which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao. Some of the main venues will be VIDENA, Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, Callao Regional Sports Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 62 disciplines, in which athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 23 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 the Olympic Games.
The Parapan American Games will welcome 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, who will participate in 17 Para sports and 18 disciplines. Competitions will take place from August 23 to September 1, 2019. Additionally, 13 sports will be qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.