This morning the warm-up track built at the VIDENA was delivered to the Peruvian Athletics Federation and the National Paralympic Association of Peru (ANPP), in the presence of renowned former and active athletes. This track will serve as a training area for athletes and Para athletes participating in the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games.
The official delivery and contract signing ceremony was attended by the Lima 2019 the Executive Director, Carlos Neuhaus Tudela; the President of the National Paralympic Association of Peru, Luisa Villar Gálvez; the Head of the Peruvian Athletics Federation, Gustavo Cárdenas Brou; and the Lima 2019 Project and Infrastructure Manager, Wilhelm Funcke Figueroa.
Among the guests were former athletes Edith Noeding, Julio Barrera, Ricardo Duarte, Óscar Fernández and Giorgio Mautino, who were able to witness this milestone in Peruvian athletics. Their excitement was shared by hundreds of athletes, their families and the public present in the grandstands of the Athletics Stadium.
“This is the product of all our efforts. We, athletes, are used to taking on challenges. All of this was built in less than a year. This stadium has a capacity for 5000 spectators and can house up to 12,000 people with temporary grandstands. Besides, it has 48 rooms to accommodate all athletes who come here to train. The VIDENA will be the Games headquarters,” said Carlos Neuhaus.
“We have a stadium on a par with this important event, with a first-level track certified by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations). So, we hope our athletes can give us many victories. Now, we’re delivering this warm-up track, so they can start training in the next few days. This is a world-class stage, so we need to take care of it,” added the Lima 2019 Executive Director.
Also, Lucha Villar expressed her gratitude for the delivery of the warm-up track. “We’re grateful for this world-class stage. Hopefully, this will help us raise more stars in athletics. We’re sure our Para athletes will break more records too.
Moreover, the President of the Peruvian Athletics Federation said he was pleased with this remodeled venue. “It’s exciting to receive such an amazing construction. We’ll have a track similar to the one that will be used in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. It’s a first-level infrastructure. So, we’re all really excited. We’ll compete and train in the best conditions,” assured Gustavo Cárdenas.
Finally, the Lima 2019 Project and Infrastructure Manager, Wilhelm Funcke, pointed out that, aside of the warm-up track, the venues for baseball, hockey, Basque pelota and paleta frontón have also been delivered, as well as the Stadium of the National University of San Marcos that will host the U17 South American Championship. New sports scenarios will be handed over in the coming days.
Competitions
After contract signing, the Peruvian Athletics Federation carried out their Third Official Preparatory Test, where athletes not only checked the benefits of a high-class track, but also tried to set the records necessary to qualify for the Pan American Games. It is important to mention that this track was certified 10 days ago by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The sports program included 100 and 400 m events, in which Para athletes also took part in order to qualify for the Parapan American Games. The new Athletics Stadium has a capacity for 6000 spectators. High-quality materials were used in the Athletics Track, similar to those used at the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This construction work obtained the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) certification, after passing the corresponding laboratory and delimiting tests. This way, the venue is read to host first-level competitions thanks to its world-class infrastructure.
ABOUT LIMA 2019
The Pan American Games 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, 2019, 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, 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 gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. The 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 encourages sports development and supports the work of its 41 members, in order to inspire more world-class performances and the next generation of athletes across our region.