SANTO DOMINGO, 15 August 2003 — World champions Argentina made sure of a place in next year’s Athens Olympics by winning the women’s hockey gold medal for the fifth time in a row at the Pan American Games on Wednesday.
Nancy Contreras, world championship runner-up last month, won the women’s 500 meters cycling sprint after her $15,000 bike arrived in the nick of time, while the men’s table tennis ended in controversy as champion Lin Ju’s serve was questioned by an opponent.
The Argentine women’s hockey team, dubbed the “Lionesses” and inspired by a player nicknamed “Maradona”, were always in control of the final against the United States.
Argentina, who enjoy enormous popularity back home in a country which until recently regarded the sport as elitist, raced into a 3-0 lead early in the second half thanks to two goals by Soledad Garcia and one from Cecilia de Carril.
But Argentina’s inspiration, with her skills and astute passing, was Luciana Aymar, who was greeted with chants of “Maradona, Maradona” from the fans whenever she touched the ball in the 3-1 victory.
“For me it’s an honor to be compared to (footballer Diego) Maradona because he’s my sporting hero,” she told reporters.
The men’s team, who struggle to generate the same enthusiasm as the women, completed a double for Argentina by beating Canada 1-0 thanks to a goal from Matias Paredes.
In the cycling, Mexico’s Contreras had a nervous wait for her favorite Italian-built bike to arrive from Stuttgart, where she won a silver medal in the track world championships.
The bike, with which she also won the world title in 2001, arrived on the eve of the race, much to her relief. “Fortunately, it got here and we did well,” she said after winning in a time of 35.463 seconds.
Dominican Republic President Hipolito Mejia was among the crowd for the men’s table tennis final, in which local hero Lin Ju beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 12-10, 14-12, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9.
But Lin Ju’s serving technique drew bitter complaints from Hugo Hoyaima of Brazil, his semifinal opponent.
The United States continued to dominate the swimming pool, Mary Elizabeth Hill winning the women’s 400 meters freestyle, Diana MacManus the women’s 100 meters backstroke and the women’s 4x100 meters relay team also taking gold.
The US streak was interrupted when Argentina’s Jose Meolans won the men’s 100 meters freestyle and 33-year-old Brazilian Rogerio Romero claimed the men’s 200 metres backstroke. Gustavo Borges, another seasoned Brazilian campaigner, finished third in the 100 meters freestyle to claim the 17th Pan American medal of his career.
Cuba, who beat the United States in Tuesday night’s baseball final, won another epic battle against their arch rivals, enjoying a 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 15-8 triumph in the men’s volleyball semifinals.
They now face Venezuela, who upset Brazil in another five-setter.
