On the Scene - Brazil Takes Medal Lead in Parapan Games

Brazil Star Shines in the Pool

Led by gold medal swimmer Daniel Dias, Brazil leads the medals table midway through the 4th Parapanamerican Games in Guadalajara.

At the start of competition Nov. 17, Brazil had 104 total medals, followed by Mexico at 80, the U.S. with 66, Argentina 46 and Canada 36. The 13-sport event ends Nov. 20, the close of more than a month of sports that began in October with the Pan American Games.

Dias, 23, won his fourth and fifth gold medals of the games Wednesday and is poised to pick up more with three more days of swimming still to go.

Medal rounds ahead Thursday in Guadalajara also include athletics, power lifting, tennis and archery.

Athletics, Other Sports Draw Crowds

Bolstered by the distribution of tickets to schools, the stands at the Parapan events are filled with cheering fans this week.On a brilliant Wednesday afternoon, the 7,000 seat Telmex Stadium was near capacity for athletics. Same for swimming at 4,000 seat Scotiabank Aquatics Center or the tiny gymnasium hosting boccia, with a noisy crowd at this event featuring wheelchair competitors with severe disabilities.

Empty Press Center

It’s a quiet spot among the venues filled with cheering fans: the Main Press Center for the Parapans. Where dozens of reporters from across the Americas made the MPC a busy place last month for the Pan American Games, just a handful were working there Wednesday morning. With 1,500 Parapan athletes compared to 6,000 for the Pan Ams which also had 20+ more sports, the media have less to cover

Which is nottosay the sprawling Guadalajara Expo where the MPC is located was quiet: thousands of delegates are converging on the venue this week to attend a transportation industry trade show. Better maybe than the funeral industry trade show that ended at the Expo just as the Pan Ams started last month?

Brazil, with the largest team in Guadalajara, 222, also has the biggest number of credentialed press outside Mexico, with more than 30 traveling to Guadalajara.

Live Coverage on the Web

Live action from the Games can be viewed here.

And for on-the-scene video from Guadalajara, visit ATR's YouTube channel.

Written and reported in Guadalajara by Ed Hula

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