 | |
| Host city | Maracaibo, Venezuela |
|---|---|
| Motto | The Sun Games Spanish: Los Juegos del Sol |
| Edition | 18th |
| Nations | 31 |
| Athletes | 5,200 |
| Opening | 8 August 1998 |
| Closing | 22 August 1998 |
| Opened by | Rafael Caldera [1] |
| Athlete's Oath | Julio Luna [1] |
| Torch lighter | Pedro Gamarro [1] |
| Main venue | Estadio José Pachencho Romero [1] |
The 18th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Maracaibo, Venezuela from August 8 to August 22, 1998, and included 31 nations and a total of 5,200 competitors.
The mascot for the Games was a goajira boy, Wayuuchon. [1]
31 sports were contested at the 1998 Games:
Archery 
Athletics 
Baseball 
Basketball
Beach volleyball 
Bowling 
Boxing 
Cycling 
Equestrian 
Fencing 
Field hockey 
Football 
Gymnastics 
Judo [2] 
Karate 
Racquetball 
Rhythmic gymnastics 
Rowing 
Sailing 
Shooting 
Softball 
Swimming 
Synchronized swimming 
Table tennis 
Taekwondo 
Tennis 
Triathlon 
Volleyball 
Water polo 
Weightlifting 
Wrestling * Host nation (Venezuela)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cuba | 191 | 74 | 69 | 334 |
| 2 |  Mexico | 61 | 87 | 71 | 219 |
| 3 |  Venezuela* | 56 | 68 | 67 | 191 |
| 4 |  Colombia | 19 | 43 | 51 | 113 |
| 5 |  Puerto Rico | 11 | 21 | 48 | 80 |
| 6 |  Dominican Republic | 7 | 20 | 44 | 71 |
| 7 |  Suriname | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 |  Jamaica | 6 | 13 | 10 | 29 |
| 9 |  El Salvador | 4 | 11 | 22 | 37 |
| 10 |  Guatemala | 3 | 11 | 22 | 36 |
| 11 |  Panama | 3 | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| 12 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| 13 |  Costa Rica | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 14 |  Bahamas | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
 Barbados | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |
| 16 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 8 | 5 | 14 |
| 17 |  British Virgin Islands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 |  Nicaragua | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 19 |  Honduras | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 20 |  Haiti | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 21 |  Aruba | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Guyana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (22 entries) | 379 | 376 | 447 | 1,202 | |
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