The Central American and Caribbean Games are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial, typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and 5 territories in Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the South American Caribbean countries of Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30.
The second Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Havana, Cuba from 15 March to 5 April 1930. The event featured 596 athletes from nine nations, competing in ten sports. Women participated in the event for the first time.
The 12th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from February 27 to March 13, 1974, and included 1,928 athletes from 23 nations competing in 18 sports.
Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium is open-air multi-purpose stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Opened in 1974 for the XII Central American & Caribbean Games and renovated 2003 Pan American Games is the largest stadium in the Dominican Republic used mostly for football and track and field and as a music venue. The stadium has a sporting events' capacity of 27,000 people, though it has seen crowds of 35,000. For concerts, its stated capacity is 50,000 people.
Prisilla Altagracia Rivera Brens is a volleyball player from the Dominican Republic.
Yuderqui Maridalia Contreras, also known as Yudelkis Contreras, is a Dominican Republican weightlifter. She went to the 2008 Summer Olympics where she was 5th. After the Games, she was accused of failing a doping control, but the case ended with her name cleared. She was one of the two athletes that represented her home country in weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She failed her three attempts in the snatch stage ending with no mark.
Bethania Almánzar Sosa is a female beach volleyball and volleyball player from the Dominican Republic. She twice won the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit 2007, partnering Margarita Suero. She played the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Championships and won the silver medal in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games playing with Julibeth Payano.
Yenebier Adelina Guillén Benítez is a Dominican boxer who competes as a 75 kilogram middleweight, Pan American Champion and Female Boxer in 2013 and silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. She also won the gold medal at the 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championship, 2013 Bolivarian Games and 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Dionicio Gustavo is a karateka from the Dominican Republic who twice won the gold medal at the Pan American Games.
Yamilet Peña Abreu is an elite artistic gymnast from the Dominican Republic who won a gold medal at the 2014 World Challenge Cup and the 2012 Pan American Championship in vault and a bronze medal at the 2012 World Cup. She is known for her execution of the Produnova—a handspring double front on vault. She qualified for the vault finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2011 and the 2013 World Championships.
Eduardo José Lorenzo Casasnova is a sports shooter who competed for the Dominican Republic in the 2016 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal in the 2014 Pan American Championship in trap and the silver in trap team. He is also multimedalist in the Central American and Caribbean Games having won the gold medal in trap team in 2010 and 2014, silver in trap team in Trap Team and the 2014 trap competition and also the trap team bronze in 2002.
Luisito Pié, also known as Luis Pie, is a Haitian-Dominican taekwondo athlete who won the bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 58 kg category.
The 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, also known as the 24th Central American and Caribbean Games and commonly known as San Salvador 2023, was the 24th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games, a quadrennial sports multi-sport event which was held from 23 June to 8 July 2023 in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Racquetball has been included at the Central American and Caribbean Games since 1990. Over that period Mexican players have dominated the podium, winning gold at every event in Men's and Women's Doubles, and winning gold in Men's and Women's Singles all but two times each. Mexico has also won every gold medal in the Men's and Women's Team events. Venezuela has the second most medals in men's events, while the Dominican Republic has won the second most medals in women's events.
José Armando Castillo also known as El Mago(the magician), is a retired baseball and fastpitch softball pitcher of the Dominican Republic National Team. He has won several gold medals in softball in various Central American and Caribbean Games and has been a national trainer in softball. He has been selected as the Softball Player of the Century in the Dominican Republic as well as added to the Corridor of Athletes of Merit of Santiago by the Sports Press Association of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. In 2016, José Armando was inducted to the Hall of Fame of the Sports of Santiago.
Marileidy Paulino is a Dominican athlete sprinter specializing in the 400 meters. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first woman from the Dominican Republic to earn an individual Olympic medal in athletics. Paulino took silver at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At these competitions, she earned also silver and gold in the mixed 4×400 m relay respectively, running legs of 48.7 s in 2021 and 48.47 s in 2022. Since May 2023, Paulino is the 400 m ranked world No. 1.
The 2022 Central American and Caribbean Beach Games, officially the I Central American and Caribbean Beach Games, was an international multi-sport event held in Santa Marta, Colombia from November 19–26. It was the first time this event was realised. The games are overseen by Centro Caribe Sports.
The badminton competition at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games will be held in San Salvador, El Salvador from 25 to 30 July at the Coliseo Complejo El Polvorín. It was the seventh appearance for badminton at the Games.
Field hockey at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games will be held from 23 June to 8 July 2023 at Estadio Del Parque El Este in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Due to infrastructure and calendar issues, the field hockey event was relocated from San Salvador, El Salvador to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
