YOUNG Costa Rican athletes dominatedboth the men’s and women’s categoriesin the Central American AthleticsChampionship in Managua, Nicaragua,last weekend, sweeping away its rivalswith 30 gold medals of a possible 79.Two hundred and fifty young athletesfrom Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama andNicaragua competed in the 13th annualCentral American A Youth AthleticsChampionship tournament, and the 18thCentral American B Youth AthleticsChampionship, hosted in the Olympicstadium in Nicaragua’s capital.Besides the 30 gold, Costa Rica won33 silver and 22 bronze medals for a totalof 85, surpassing its closest competitor,Guatemala, by 21 medals. Guatemalawon 21 gold medals, Panama won 16 andNicaragua won 12.Athletes from Honduras, El Salvadorand Belize did not participate in thechampionship; they remained hunkereddown at home because of the threatposed by tropical storm Adrián, whichdid not cause the damage meteorologistssuspected it might.
