Even without Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade, the artistic gymnastic all-around final produced one of the Pan American Games’ compelling competitions on Monday. Kayla DiCello took gold, signaling she will be a contender for a U.S. Paris Olympic squad spot. DiCello, the 2021 world bronze medalist, led on the vault and balance beam before a strong finish on the floor saw her score top the leaderboard. DiCello is a former NCAA champion, a two-time national all-around medalist, and a gold medalist in the vault event at the world championships last year in Liverpool. She was nearly a point behind Andrade’s expected difficulty at this Pan Am, but she is a powerful performer with some upgrades in the works that could help her close the gap next year.
DiCello is the latest in a long line of athletes to take advantage of the Pan Ams as a launching pad to significant success. Jamal Murray was an 18-year-old incoming college freshman who won the 100m Pan Am title four years ago in Lima. He went on to win a bronze at the Worlds in Beijing and is now a bona fide NBA star with the Denver Nuggets. Andre De Grasse was a rising high school athlete who won the 100m Pan Am in Toronto in 2015. He went on to win multiple NCAA titles and a 100m gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The esports community is counting on the Pan Am Games to debut at the elite level this year in San Jose. It will be the first time in history that an esports tournament has been part of the multi-sport festival, and fans are encouraged to buy tickets now to see how it all plays out at SAP Center.
Other medals were won by United States flagbearers Vincent Hancock and Jordan Chiles in skeet shooting and gymnast Donnell Whittenburg and teammate Zoe Miller in the women’s all-around. Chiles, a friend of Biles’ from their days at the University of Oregon, also led the U.S. to its sixth straight women’s team gold, beating Andrade’s Brazil.
The United States leads the overall medal count with 46, including 20 golds. Mexico is second with 18.
