Juan Pablo Velázquez silver at Modern Pentathlon Pan American

May 23, 2025

Juan Pablo Velázquez, main figure of the Cuba team, won today the silver medal in the senior-youth category of the 2025 Varadero Open Beach Modern Pentathlon Pan American Championship.

The host accumulated 1,494 points, only surpassed by Mexican Marco Antonio López (1,524), while the bronze was obtained by Dominican Gabriel Domínguez (1,477).

Velázquez had guaranteed the highest score in fencing on Tuesday and in the completion of this test he placed sixth in swimming and ninth in obstacles, but it was in the combined shooting-running where he rose to claim his place on the podium.

Two other locals, both youth (under-22 years old), finished in fifth and ninth places, in that order, Sunel Lezcano (1,436) and Yon Pablo Martínez (1,358), among 15 finalists from five of the eight countries competing.

In the under-15 category, which does not include fencing, Panamanian Iker Castillo dominated (1,261); Cubans Kevin Carmona (1,240) and Elvis Montes de Oca (1,225) won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Dannier Blanco and Jasán Arjona, also Cuban, occupied fourth and fifth places among under-17 year-olds, a category in which their compatriot Yenier Barceló finished tenth; representatives from Guatemala, Panama and Peru took over the podium.

Mexico, Guatemala and Canada had the best results in the under-19 category, where hosts Nelson Osorio and Karel Omar Rosa finished in fourth and sixth places, respectively.

The fifth date will be dedicated this Friday to swimming and fencing of the mixed relays, which will conclude on Saturday with obstacles and shooting-running.

The 2025 Varadero Modern Pentathlon Pan American Championship will end on Sunday, with the running-swimming-running biathlon.

Cuba participates in this championship with 16 athletes distributed among the five categories, accompanied by Guatemala (18), Panama (11), Mexico (nine), Colombia (five), Dominican Republic (five), Peru (three) and Canada (two).