More than 100 junior judokas are preparing to compete at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games, which will hold their second edition in Paraguay. This quadrennial multi-sport event will last 14 days and host over 4,000 athletes from across the continent.

The judo competition will take place at the Olympic Park, inside Paraguay’s Olympic Training Centre. The events are scheduled from Saturday, August 9, to Tuesday, August 12, with a team tournament planned for the final day.

Significant growth since the first edition

This edition will feature 116 judokas from 21 countries, nearly doubling the participation compared to the inaugural event held in Cali in 2021, which saw 60 athletes from 13 nations compete. Preliminary bouts will start at 10:30 a.m., while final blocks are set for 3 p.m. on each of the three competition days.

Brazil will send a full delegation of 14 athletes, including three medallists from the 2024 Junior World Championships in Dushanbe: Clarice Ribeiro, Bianca Reis, and Dandara Camilo. Other notable names include Americans Christopher Velasco and Daniel Liubimovski, recent medallists at junior European Cups, as well as Canadian John Messe A Bessong, 2022 cadet world champion.

Paraguay’s debut at home

Paraguay will participate for the first time with a team of nine judokas. The national squad will compete in front of a home crowd aiming to secure their first medal at the event.

The list of favourites is completed by several junior Pan American champions, such as Jhonathan Benavides and Alfredo Valdivieso from Colombia, and Cubans Zail Ramirez and Dayanara Curbelo Travieso.