Barbados’ Charles Cox saw his dreams of securing the island’s first boxing medal at the Pan Am Games since 2011 come to an end as he went down to Haiti’s Cedrick Belony-Duliepre in the men’s 80kg quarterfinals.
Heading into the bout on Monday night at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olimpico in Chile, Cox was on the verge of emulating heavyweight Anderson Emmanuel’s performance in Guadalajara, Mexico, where the hard-hitting Barbadian clinched a bronze medal, Barbados’ first-ever boxing medal at the Games.
However, Belony-Duliepre had different intentions.
Both boxers engaged in an intense battle throughout the contest, with an Olympic spot in Paris at stake, adding an extra layer of intrigue.
The five judges faced a challenging decision, but ultimately, after three rounds, it was Belony-Duliepre who received the majority, winning 4-1.
Four of the judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favour of the Haitian, while one judge Atsuo Fujisaku of Japan gave Cox a 29-28 edge after favouring the Barbadian pugilist in rounds two and three.
In the women’s 80kg category, Kimberly Gittens is set to step into the ring on Tuesday, where she will face Brazil’s Viviane Dos Santos.
Meanwhile, Anya Pilgrim finished 18th in the women’s all-around final in gymnastics, after scoring 45.766 in her routine.
Barbados’ gymnast Anya Pilgrim in action at the Pan Am Games (GOA photo)
In other results, the Mixed Team Skeet shooting pair of Michael Maskell and Mitchell Ellite finished 11th in the qualification round and failed to advance, while in swimming Jack Kirby finished 10th overall in the men’s 100m backstroke in a time of 56.10 seconds.
Barbados’ other swimmer, Danielle Titus didn’t have a strong showing in the women’s 100m backstroke, failing to advance to the final with a time of one minute, 4.66 seconds, after placing sixth in her heat.
Titus also competed in the women’s 200m backstroke, placing eighth.
In taekwondo, the island’s only representative, Chioke Holder, was eliminated by Argentina’s Eduardo Alves in the men’s 80kg Kyorugi. Holder lost the first round 8-2, and the second 6-3.
Quontana Clarke concluded his men’s weightlifting in the 102kg category with a total of 232, the lowest among the 16 competitors. Clarke managed to lift 95 in the snatch and 137 in the clean-and-jerk.
In the 2019 Pan Am Games, Barbados concluded its campaign with a memorable performance by Shane Brathwaite, who secured the nation’s only medal by claiming the gold in the men’s 110m hurdles.
Since their debut at the Pan Am Games in 1963, Barbados has accumulated a total of 16 medals, consisting of one gold, four silver, and 11 bronze.
