San Juan hosted Pan American Games in 1979 (VIII)

An unprecedented venue, San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, hosted the 8th Pan American Games from July 1 to 15, 1979, a multisport event in which Cuba consolidated its second place in the medal standings, with seven more titles than in the previous version.

In the Island of Charm, the Cuban delegation won 64 gold, 47 silver and 34 bronze medals, ahead of Canada (24-43-70) and only surpassed by the United States (126-95-45).

The weightlifters made a great contribution to Cuba, dominating weightlifting with 23 crowns out of a possible 30, thus remaining as continental kings.

The fencers also reedited their leadership, this time with six titles out of eight in dispute, while the exponents of men's artistic gymnastics once again demonstrated their hierarchy.

Among the best individual performances, Cuba's star athlete, Silvio Leonard, won the double in sprinting, winning the gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter dash in athletics.

With this performance, Leonard equaled the feat of his compatriot Rafael Fortun, also winner in those two events in Buenos Aires 1951.

Other stars, such as Cuba's Alberto Juantorena, Brazil's Joao Carlos Oliveira, and US athletes Renaldo Nehemiah and Evelyn Ashford, honored the athletics with their presence.

Among the curious facts, Cuban boxers climbed to the top of the podium five times, but the U.S. (4) came out on top with the highest number of points according to the rules of the International Boxing Federation.

In the collective competitions, the Caribbean Island teams continued their triumphal pace in baseball and volleyball, the latter in both genders, while basketball (f) also contributed to the golden booty.

The San Juan event broke all participation records with the attendance of 3,700 athletes; and Cuba had the additional merit of reaching second place in the medal standings without having competed in the vast majority of the 25 new events.

In 1983, athletes from the area traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, in search of fulfilling their dreams, competing and fraternizing.