The biggest highlight of the Brazilian team at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August – he won the bronze medal in the 20 km walk – was Brasilia native Caio Bonfim (CASO-DF) barely left the circuit and warned that the year 2023 is not over and attention has shifted to the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, which will take place from October 29 to November 5.

He was officially summoned this Thursday (21/9) for the competition, in a live broadcast presented by the president of the Administrative Committee of the Brazilian Athletics Confederation (CBAt), Wlamir Motta Campos, on Canal Atletismo Brasil. In addition to the 20 km, Caio will also participate in the new event in the program: the foot relay race.

The technical level of athletic walking in Pan is very high, with the participation of Colombians, Peruvians, Ecuadorians, Mexicans, Canadians and Guatemalans, athletes coming from countries with a great tradition in the specialty.

In the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the region’s best athletes will compete in Santiago. “I am very happy to participate in the Pan and to be able to try for another medal,” said Caio, 32. “I have said it and I repeat it, the season is not over, it only ends after Pan. I am training in the best possible way to seek the best result for Brazil.”

Next week, Caio embarks on an altitude training camp in Bogota, Colombia, where he will complete his final preparation for Santiago 2023. “It will be an important competition. After winning a medal at the World Championships, in a pre-Olympic year, the Pan will be special,” commented the Brazilian. “I experienced this in 2019, in Lima, but unfortunately the Tokyo Games, because of the pandemic, were postponed to 2021.”

Silver medalist in Lima-2019 and bronze in Toronto-2015, Caio approaches the event with great affection and determination. “The Pan American Games bring that look, with a little spice, an entry into the Olympics. This is why we are working hard to have a good performance in Chile,” added the walker, guided by his parents Gianetti Bonfim and João Sena, in Sobradinho, in the Federal District.

At the World Championships, Caio has two bronze medals: in London-2017 (1:19:04) and in Budapest-2023, with 1:17:47 – the mark is the Brazilian record for 20 km.