The preparation for the Santiago 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games keeps going strong for all sports. By the end of March, the the vice president of the Pan American Rowing Confederation (Copare), the American Kristopher Grudt, was in Chile to review all details regarding his discipline.
The competition will be held in Laguna Grande, located in the San Pedro de la Paz district in the Biobío Region, 507 km away from the Chilean capital. The competition venue was changed from Tranque La Luz de Curauma, in Valparaíso, due to water issues.
In Grudt words, “almost a year ago, we visited Laguna Grande to check if the place was suitable for the competition and we realized it is, and it has great features, which is why we totally recommend it for this activity.” He went into even more detail about the most austral venue of Santiago 2023.
“There’s water and that’s really important for our sport. It has the necessary distance, considering races are 2 thousand meters long. It also has a good space for boats, spectators, and all the necessary infrastructure to be a quality venue,” he said.
Grudt, who is also an international rowing judge, highlighted the collaborative work by the staff of the local organizing committee. “People around here are very cooperative. We all have the same objective: making the Games an opportunity for athletes to give the best they have.”
The American Kristopher Grudt, international technical delegate of rowing for the Santiago 2023 Games (photo: Santiago 2023).
“LEAVING WATER CLEAN AND UNDAMAGED WHILE WE USE IT IS CRUCIAL”
This competition venue is part of the Nature Sanctuary called “Laguna Grande-Humedal Los Batros,” declared so in October, 2021 through a rule by the Ministry of the Environment. The protection of competition areas is extremely important for World Rowing, the top rowing organization in the world.
“Clean water and access to it for everyone is highly important for us. World Rowing collaborates with the clean waters project of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), so it’s crucial for us to be able to use water but leaving it undamaged and clean,” he said.
Kristopher Grudt talked about the importance of the specific measures being applied by the organization of the Pan American Games: “It’ll be one of the great competitions in the world to use boats with electric engines for referees and officials. This has the objective of reducing the impact of any structure used in the venue. This way, the area will keep being as beautiful as it is right now.”
THE ROAD TO THE 2024 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES
The candidates to win medals in the Pan American Games are the always-strong United States and Canada, but others such as Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba, and the host Chile, also have a chance to win. In relation to the national crew that recently finished second place, behind Team USA, in Pre Pan American event, Grudt mentioned that “everything depends on the size of the boat and the event and I believe that the hosts have great chances of earning a medal".
The Pan Americans won’t be a qualifying opportunity for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The road of rowers towards the five-ring event has three stops: the Belgrade World Cup, from September 3rd to 10th, the Continental Qualification Regatta in 2024, that could be hosted by San Pedro de la Paz, and the final repechage in May 2024, in Lucerne, Switzerland.
THE EVENTS THAT ARE PART OF THE PAN AMERICANS
In Santiago 2023, there’ll be 13 medal events in rowing with six male events, six female events, and the debuting mixed eight, from October 21st to 25th. Here’s the detailed information:
M1x/W1x: Single
M2x/W2x: Double
M4x/W4x: Quadruple
M2-/W2-: Coxless pair
M4-/M4-: Coxless quad
LM2x/LW2x: Lightweight double sculls
8+ mixed: Eight with coxswain
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