The Mexico 2026 Parapan American Open Championships concluded with several familiar names returning to the top of the podium, while other athletes made their mark at the regional event held from 4 to 8 October in Mexico City.
Brazil topped the elite individual medals table with 23 medals, including 10 golds, followed by Colombia with four golds. Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, USA and El Salvador claimed one gold each.
The championships were the fourth and final World Para Powerlifting Regional Open event of 2026, providing athletes with an important opportunity to strengthen their position on the qualification pathway towards the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
Perez delights home crowd
Among the biggest highlights was Mexico’s legendary Amalia Perez, who celebrated a golden comeback on home soil following a lengthy absence due to shoulder surgery.
The 53-year-old, the most decorated Para powerlifter in Paralympic history, did not disappoint as she returned to the international stage.
The four-time Paralympic champion successfully completed all three lifts of 112kg, 116kg and 120kg to win the women’s up to 61kg title, much to the delight of the home supporters.
Her performance in Mexico City marked another important step in her comeback after returning to competition in May, when she won the opening stage of the Mexican Para Powerlifting Circuit with a best lift of 110kg.
Brazil’s Paralympic stars shine
Reigning Paralympic champions Mariana D’Andrea and Tayana Medeiros led Brazil’s golden campaign, while compatriots Marco Tulio Cruz and Gustavo Amaral de Souza produced record-breaking performances.
D’Andrea, the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 champion, claimed the women’s up to 73kg title with three
successful lifts of 131kg, 141kg and 146kg, adding another success to her collection following gold at the Valledupar 2026 Para South American Games in July.
Medeiros, the Paris 2024 Paralympic champion, was equally impressive in the women’s up to 86kg, lifting 151kg to claim gold and improve the Americas record.
The Brazilian also attempted to break the world record with a fourth lift of 160kg but was unsuccessful. The record of 159kg is held by China’s Zhang Feifei, who set the mark in Tbilisi in 2024.
Brazil’s success continued with Marco Tulio Cruz, who improved his own Americas record to 178kg in the men’s up to 49kg, while Gustavo Amaral de Souza set another continental mark with a 255kg lift in the men’s over 107kg.
Six other Brazilian women also claimed gold, including Paris 2024 bronze medallist Lara Aparecida de Lima, who won the women’s up to 45kg title with a lift of 110kg.
Khattab continues golden run
Jordanian legend Abdelkareem Khattab, the only Asian athlete in a field dominated by champions from the Americas, continued his winning run with gold in the men’s up to 97kg, less than two weeks before the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games.
The reigning Paralympic and world champion completed lifts of 225kg and 240kg before missing his final attempt at 250kg, settling for the same winning mark he had recorded at the Cairo 2025 World Championships.
The three-time world champion will now turn his attention to the Asian Para Games, where he will aim to continue his dominance on the bench.
Regional champions shine
Among the other winners was Venezuela’s reigning Paralympic and world champion Clara Fuentes, who secured her nation’s only elite individual gold in the women’s up to 55kg.
Fuentes successfully completed all three lifts of 120kg, 125kg and 127kg before narrowly missing a fourth attempt at 131kg.
El Salvador’s Herbert Aceituno, the two-time Parapan American Games champion, also continued his winning form, claiming his nation’s only gold medal in the men’s up to 54kg with a best lift of 181kg.
The championships, featuring a strong field of 180 athletes from 20 nations across the Americas and Asia, provided a fitting end to the 2026 Regional Open calendar.
Fans can relive all the action from the Mexico 2026 Parapan American Open Championships on the Paralympics YouTube channel, while full results are available on the official website.
