Latin American Athletics, an Olympic Cycle with Reasons to Dream

The road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games is still long, but Latin American athletics has earned the right to dream thanks to the World Championships in Tokyo, which concluded on Sunday and served as the first major benchmark of the Olympic cycle.

Record of 15 medals

Until now, Seville 1999 and Budapest 2023 were the editions of the World Championships with the most medals for the region, with 10 each, but Tokyo 2025 shattered that record, raising the bar to 15.

The medal tally included three titles, surpassing Budapest 2023 (2) but falling short of Eugene 2022, when five of the eight Latin American medals were gold.

Another highlight was the number of Latin American delegations that left Japan with medals: nine in total—Cuba and Brazil with three, Mexico and Ecuador with two, and the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Uruguay with one each.

Yulimar is back

It wasn’t gold but bronze; still, the Venezuelan medal carried enormous symbolic value. Yulimar Rojas (29), Latin America’s great star and queen of the triple jump, returned to her event two years later after overcoming an Achilles tendon injury that had sidelined her since April 2024.

Her level was not the same as before the injury—she finished third with 14.76 meters, nearly a meter short of her world record of 15.74—but her very presence in the competition was already great news, breaking the ice ahead of a full comeback expected in 2026.

“There is still plenty of Yulimar Rojas ahead, this doesn’t end here, and next year I’ll be back much better, stronger, more prepared, and hungrier for victory,” she promised in the mixed zone, unable to hold back tears.

Paulino, a spectacular time

For Dominican runner Marileidy Paulino (28), the Tokyo World Championships brought a paradox: she lost her world crown and had to settle for silver, yet she set a personal best in the 400 meters—47.98 seconds, the third-fastest time in history. This inspires confidence that she will be ready to defend her Olympic title three years from now.

Her quest for gold was thwarted only because American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stunned with 47.78, the second-best time ever, just 18 hundredths shy of the longstanding world record set by Germany’s Marita Koch in 1985 (47.60).

It also remains uncertain whether McLaughlin-Levrone will compete in the 400 meters flat at Los Angeles 2028. Her signature event is the 400-meter hurdles, where she is Olympic champion and world record holder. At Paris 2024, it was the only individual race she entered.

New paths, new horizons

The Tokyo World Championships also opened new horizons.

Uruguay won its first-ever medal at a World Championships, and did so in an event not usually favorable for the region: the marathon, through Julia Paternain (almost 26). Brazil, meanwhile, claimed its first world title in race walking thanks to veteran Caio Bonfim (34).

Mexico and Ecuador achieved unprecedented success in the throwing events, with Uziel Muñoz (30) winning bronze in shot put and Juleisy Angulo (24) in javelin.

“I’m grateful for this enormous door that has opened for me, and I’m going to make the most of it. There’s Juleisy, and there’s Ecuador for the long haul,” said Angulo, who delivered a major upset in her event.

Colombia’s Natalia Linares (22) secured bronze in long jump, the sister discipline of triple jump, in which her illustrious compatriot Caterine Ibargüen built her legacy.

Puerto Rico also blazed a new trail: until now, its four previous World Championships medals had all come in hurdling events. This time, it claimed silver in the decathlon through Ayden Owens-Delerme (25).