Panamanian Olympic Committee says gov’t not going to bat for Pan Am Games

Panamanian Olympic Committee (COP) president Camilo Amado said Tuesday that it worries him that with only six months left until the start of the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima the Panamanian Sports Institute (Pandeportes) has not provided any support for the preparation of the country’s athletes.

“Today I appeared in person at @pandeportes (headquarters) with the mission of trying to talk to the director or at least to be given an appointment. Neither the director nor the sub received me, I wasn’t given an appointment either. #6months until Lima 2019,” Amado said in a Twitter post.

Amado said that the Pandeportes director has not yet given him an appointment to address and resolve the matter, which is why some Panamanian athletes are on tenterhooks regarding their preparation and deadlines for qualifying for the regional games, which is the key event prior to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“Since June 2018, the director of @pandeportes has not paid attention to any of the communication channels that we have used to try and procure the support our athletes need (letters, visits, calls and chats),” Amado said.

The COP is scheduled to take approximately 80 athletes to the Pan American Games in Lima, which will be held from July 26 through Aug. 11.