Mexico Leads Santo Domingo 2026 Medal Table as Games Enter Final Days

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Mexico held a commanding lead at the Central American and Caribbean Games on Tuesday, Aug. 4, with 274 medals as competition entered its final stretch.

At the time of publication, the official medal table listed Mexico with 122 gold, 82 silver and 70 bronze medals. Colombia was second with 60 gold and 177 medals overall, followed by Cuba with 32 gold and 93 total medals. The figures will continue changing as events conclude.

The Games opened July 24 and run through Aug. 8, bringing together more than 6,000 athletes from 37 countries and territories. Mexico sent approximately 700 competitors and is seeking a third consecutive overall championship after leading the medal standings at Barranquilla 2018 and San Salvador 2023.

Among the results recorded so far:

Rowing

Melissa Márquez and Aylin Ibarra won two gold medals together. They first captured the women’s lightweight double sculls, completing the 2,000-meter course in 7 minutes, 22.51 seconds.

The following day, they won the open women’s double sculls in 7:19.85, ahead of crews from Cuba and Guatemala.

Mexico also earned silver through Alexis López and André Simsch in the men’s double sculls, while Rafael Mejía and Roberto Ahumada won bronze in the lightweight men’s double sculls. CONADE

Archery

Mexico won both recurve team titles.

Alejandra Valencia, Ana Paula Vázquez and Ángela Ruiz defeated Colombia 5-1 in the women’s final. Matías Grande, Raúl Rodríguez and Francisco Padilla beat Colombia 5-3 in the men’s final.

The two victories also secured Mexican team places in the recurve competitions at the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima.

Mexico added silver medals in the men’s and women’s compound team events. Andrea Becerra, Dafne Quintero and Ana Hernández lost the women’s final to El Salvador by one point, 223-222.

Equestrian Sports

Mexico won individual gold and silver, along with the team title, in the eventing competition at the Palmarejo Equestrian Center.

Fernando Parroquín and Anáhuac SDN won the individual gold medal with a final score of 34.1 penalties. Luis Ariel Santiago Franco and Castigado finished second with 35.4. Both riders completed the final show-jumping round without adding penalties.

Mexico took the team gold with 126.6 penalties. The team included Fernando and Gerardo Parroquín, Luis Ariel Santiago Franco and Bischel Hernández. Colombia finished second with 190.6, while Honduras earned bronze with 327.5.

Eventing combines dressage, cross-country riding and show jumping. Mexico is also competing in the Games’ separate dressage and jumping programs, which continue through Aug. 7.

Open-water Swimming

Mexico finished first in the open-water swimming medal standings with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Paulo Strehlke won the men’s 10-kilometer race in 2:02:34.0 and later captured the 3-kilometer sprint knockout in 6:53.8. Diego Obele earned bronze in both men’s events.

Dalia Moreno won the women’s 3-kilometer sprint knockout after taking bronze in the 10-kilometer race. Yuritzi Salgado earned silver in both women’s events.

Taekwondo and Judo

William Arroyo and Cecilia Lee Kim Seo Hyun won the mixed freestyle poomsae title with a score of 8.680. Guatemala finished second with 8.400 and Puerto Rico placed third with 8.280.

Mexico completed the poomsae program with two gold medals and one silver.

In judo, Olympic silver medalist Prisca Awiti took silver in the women’s 63-kilogram division. Venezuela’s Anriquelis Barrios won the final by ippon with seven seconds remaining in the four-minute contest.

Mexico won three silvers and one bronze during that day of judo competition.

Shooting

Gabriela Rodríguez Garza successfully defended her Central American and Caribbean title in women’s skeet, winning gold with 31 targets. Anabel Molina earned bronze with 23.

Luis Gallardo Oliveros won the men’s title after a sudden-death shoot-off against Guatemala’s Sebastián Bermúdez. Both had hit 31 targets before Gallardo won the shoot-off 4-3. Mexico’s Jesús Balboa took bronze with 26.

Track Cycling

Mexico won the men’s and women’s team sprint titles at the Olympic Velodrome.

Ridley Malo, Jafet López and Edgar Verdugo defeated Colombia in the men’s competition. Jessica Salazar, Luz Daniela Gaxiola and Yuli Verdugo won the women’s final, also ahead of Colombia. Trinidad and Tobago earned bronze in both events.

Badminton and Water Polo

Mexico won the mixed-team badminton tournament without losing a match. The team defeated Guatemala 3-0 in the final after earlier victories over the Dominican Republic, Cuba, El Salvador and Colombia.

The gold-medal team consisted of Job Castillo, Luis Montoya, Armando Gaitán, Juan Torres, Miriam Rodríguez, Romina Fregoso, Vanesa García and Vanessa Villalobos.

Mexico’s men’s water polo team earned bronze with a 17-13 victory over Cuba in the third-place game.

Competition remains underway in athletics, boxing, diving and several team and equestrian events. The final medal count will not be settled until the Games close on Saturday, Aug. 8.