Bolivians won more than half of the gold medals Saturday at the 36th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, but just barely, as they won 8 of the 15 World Cup divisions. The World Cup divisions are the U21, U18 and U16 age categories.
Bolivian Camila Rivero successfully defended her Girls U21 title, beating team-mate Rebecca Amaya Ardaya in the final, 11-2, 11-5, 11-2. Across 6 matches in Santo Domingo, Rivera won 18 games and lost one. That’s dominance.
She had a chance at a second gold medal, as Rivero and Jhoel Alexis Acha Portugal were in the U21 Mixed Doubles final. But Americans DJ Mendoza and Naomi Ros, who was the only player to take a game off Rivero in singles, defeated the Bolivians in that final, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11, 11-8.
The Boys U21 Singles final was also an all-Bolivia match. top seed Jonathan Fernando Flores Vega defeated his teammate Nicolas Ramiro Iglesias Rivera, in three straight games, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9. Flores Vega didn’t lose a game across his seven singles matches, although he did need extra points to win three games in the pool play stage. In his four medal round matches, Flores Vega only surrendered 5.6 points per game. That’s even greater dominance.
Three countries split the gold medals in the U21 doubles divisions. Boys U21 Doubles was one of the divisions that didn’t have a Bolivian in the final. In that final, Mexicans Jorge Gutierrez and Sebastian Hernández defeated Guatemalans Hector Sierra Mansilla and Jose Caceres, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9. In Girls U21, Bolivians Valeria Miranda Martinez and Rebecca Amaya Ardaya beat Mexicans Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido and Ivanna Balderrama, 12-10, 11-4, 11-4, and as mentioned above the USA won the U21 Mixed Doubles division.
Aside from that USA win, Costa Rica was the only other country to win gold, as sisters Giuliana Faeth and Larissa Faeth beat Bolivians Luciana Illanes Quenta and Suszel Andrea Pairo Galileo, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8, to win the U16 Girl Doubles division.
Gold Medal outcomes
Bolivians won 8 of the 15 gold medals in the World Cup divisions: Boys and Girls U21, U18 & U16, singles, doubles and mixed doubles. They won 8 of the 13 divisions that they had finalists in, including a sweep of boys singles, and two of three girls singles divisions.
But Mexico won more of the doubles divisions, taking four of the five divisions they had finalists in, while Bolivia won three (of seven finalists), and Costa Rica and the USA one each. Costa Rica was in three finals, and the USA in one, so the conversion rate of finalists into gold medalists was the best for the USA (100%; 1 for 1), second best for Mexico (80%), then Bolivia (43%), and Costa Rica (33%). Guatemala and Ecuador each had finalists in one division, and neither won.
They live streamed several matches each day from Santo Domingo, so there are many good matches to check out at the IRF YouTube channel.
XXXVI IRF World Junior Championships
December 6-13 - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Girls U21 Singles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
2) Camila Rivero (Bolivia) d. 5) Rebecca Amaya Ardaya (Bolivia), 11-2, 11-5, 11-2
Girls U21 Doubles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
2) Valeria Miranda Martinez & Rebecca Amaya Ardaya (Bolivia) d. 1) Angela Veronica Ortega Sabido & Ivanna Balderrama (Mexico), 12-10, 11-4, 11-4
Boys U21 Singles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Jonathan Fernando Flores Vega (Bolivia) d. 3) Nicolas Ramiro Iglesias Rivera (Bolivia), 11-7, 11-6, 11-9
Boys U21 Doubles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Jorge Gutierrez & Sebastian Hernández (Mexico) d. 3) Hector Sierra Mansilla & Jose Caceres (Guatemala), 11-8, 11-9, 11-9
Mixed Doubles U21 - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
4) DJ Mendoza & Naomi Ros (USA) d. 2) Jhoel Alexis Acha Portugal & Camila Rivero (Bolivia), 11-7, 7-11, 13-11, 11-8
Girls U18 Singles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
3) Yanna Salazar (Mexico) d. 5) Nicol Abril Mansilla Tambo (Bolivia), 11-8, 11-9, 12-10
Girls U18 Doubles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Yanna Salazar & Mariafernanda Trujillo (Mexico) d. 2) Natalia Mendez Veizaga & Adriana Noelia Blacutt Conde (Bolivia), 3-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5
Boys U18 Singles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Marco Mamani Aguilar (Bolivia) d. 2) Eder Renteria (Mexico), 11-5, 11-8, 11-3
Boys U18 Doubles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Eder Renteria & Diego Romano (Mexico) d. 3) Martin Carchi & Juan David Sea Cueva (Ecuador), 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3
Mixed Doubles U18 - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
2) Nicolas Galindo & Yanna Salazar (Mexico) d. 1) Marco Mamani Aguilar & Natalia Mendez Veizaga (Bolivia), 11-4, 12-10, 11-2
Girls U16 Singles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
2) Luciana Illanes Quenta (Bolivia) d. 5) Andrea Perez Picon (Mexico), 11-2, 11-6, 11-5
Girls U16 Doubles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Giuliana Faeth & Larissa Faeth (Costa Rica) d. 2) Luciana Illanes Quenta & Suszel Andrea Pairo Galileo (Bolivia), 11-8, 12-10, 11-8
Boys U16 Singles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
2) Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo (Bolivia) d. 1) Santiago Castillo (Mexico), 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4
Boys U16 Doubles - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
4) Sebastian Terrazas & Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo (Bolivia) d. 2) Alvaro Guillen & Marcelo García Sanchez (Costa Rica), 11-6, 12-10, 11-9
Mixed Doubles U16 - Medal Round
Final - Saturday
1) Alfredo Santiago Borja Arevalo & Suszel Andrea Pairo Galileo (Bolivia) d. 2) Larissa Faeth & Alvaro Guillen (Costa Rica), 7-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10
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