The most conspicuous sign of the growth of the South American
Games came in Valencia, Venezuela (with some events in
Puerto Cabello and Caracas), with the fifth edition of
the Games, that occurred from November 19 through the
28, 1994. Delegations from Panama, the Netherland Antilles
and Aruba joined the traditional participants. The numbers
were the most impressing until then: 1,599 athletes from
14 nations competed in 19 sports: Athletics, Baseball,
Bowling, Boxing, Canoe/Kayak, Cycling, Fencing, Football,
Gymnastics, Judo, Karate, Shooting, Softball, Swimming,
Table tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.
Journalists and observers praised
the excellence of the organization, highlighting the
excellent technical standards of the competitions in
Venezuela. Argentina won 218 medals – 105 gold
ones – reaching the highest position in the charts
for the fifth time in a row. Venezuela took full advantage
of competing at home and had its best performance in
the history of the Games: 76 gold medals in a total
of 206. Colombia came in third place, with 35 gold medals.
The tennis competition at the
V South American Games featured the participation of
a young, unknown Brazilian athlete: Gustavo Kuerten,
AKA Guga. Three years later, Guga would win the first
of a series of three titles in Roland Garros, definitely
conquering a space in the history of world tennis.
|
