Cancún, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo achieved its best-ever performance at the National Olympiad, winning 133 medals — 44 gold, 33 silver, and 56 bronze — state sports officials announced.
Jacobo Arzate, head of the state sports commission, said the state not only increased its medal count but also placed in disciplines where it had previously not appeared on the national medal table.
A standout result was the national championship in chess, where Quintana Roo won the most gold medals in the country for the first time. Kalani Fogo Esquivel led the charge with five gold and two silver medals, totaling seven — one of the highest individual hauls in this edition.
New Disciplines Boost State
Arzate noted that Quintana Roo competed in 39 sports, three more than last year, including skateboarding, water polo, and duathlon. Yetro Brito competed in athletics, open water swimming, and triathlon, becoming the only athlete from the state to participate in three different disciplines.
The state delegation still has events remaining, including wrestling, speed skating, weightlifting, table tennis, and synchronized swimming, where officials expect to add more medals. More than 800 athletes from all 11 municipalities are participating in the National Olympiad.
Scholarships and Support for Medalists
Winning athletes receive financial incentives and monthly scholarships based on the number and color of their medals. Arzate said the incentive payments are made each November 20 during the State Sports Awards, while scholarships last approximately one year.
The current state administration has invested over 36 million pesos (about $1.8 million) in scholarship programs for athletes, coaches, and high-performance competitors. More than 1,500 athletes and coaches have benefited through the Unique Registry of Quintana Roo Sports, a digital platform that processes and tracks support.
Social World Cup to Build Sports Infrastructure
Arzate also reported that the federal government’s “Social World Cup” program, backed in Quintana Roo, includes the rehabilitation and construction of 46 sports facilities across the state. These include 22 five-a-side soccer fields, two seven-a-side fields, and one full-size soccer field, with an investment of over 65 million pesos (about $3.3 million) in federal funds.
In Chetumal, a new certified athletics track is being built at the Bicentenario Sports Complex using technology from Mondo, the company that supplied tracks for Olympic Games.
