Costa Rica Wins First Swimming Gold in 20 Years

Less than the blink of an eye separated Alondra Ortiz from silver, but it was enough to bring Costa Rica back to the top of the swimming podium after 20 years.

The 23-year-old Costa Rican touched the wall in 2 minutes and 13.73 seconds at Wednesday's 200-meter butterfly final in Santo Domingo. Colombia's Stefany Baños finished just four-hundredths of a second behind her, with Venezuela's Leydar Moreno claiming bronze at 2:14.39.

The victory marks Costa Rica's first swimming gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games since Claudia Poll won two titles in 2006. For two decades, the country waited for another swimmer to reach that same height.

Ortiz entered the competition as one of Costa Rica's top athletes, having represented her country at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She's established herself as the nation's leading butterfly swimmer, winning the same event at the 2025 Central American Games in Guatemala with a time of 2:15.72.

Her Santo Domingo performance was nearly two full seconds faster than that winning time. The improvement shows how much ground she's covered in just one year.

Why This Inspires

Ortiz's gold is part of a bigger moment for Costa Rica at these Games. The country sent 268 athletes to compete in 28 sports at the centennial edition of the regional competition, which runs through August 8.

Those athletes have delivered four gold medals, two silver, and nine bronze so far. They're competing alongside more than 6,000 athletes from across Central America and the Caribbean, proving Costa Rica can stand tall on the regional stage.

The margin of victory makes Ortiz's win even more compelling. After 200 meters of racing and every ounce of effort, the difference between gold and silver came down to a split second and one final touch.

That tiny margin ended a long wait and added another major achievement to a career that's still unfolding.