– A total of 20 medals—11 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze—was Colombia’s final tally at the 2026 Dubai Para Athletics Grand Prix.

– Colombia’s first international competition of 2026 marks the start of the road to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games.

This Friday marked the final day of the 2026 Dubai Para Athletics Grand Prix, where Colombia kicked off the competition schedule with excitement on the field in the F37 Javelin Throw event. Yasiris Blandón secured a bronze medal for Colombia by improving her personal best to 30.01 meters. First place went to Belarus with Lizabeta Davravolskaya, who threw 34.11 meters, and Kenyan Sheilla Wanyoyi took second place with 34.19 meters.

The second medal of the day came in the men’s T37 200-meter race, with Valle del Cauca’s Yefferson Suárez claiming the first gold of Day 4 with a time of 24.07 seconds. Kyle Keyworth of Great Britain took second place with 26.43, and the bronze went to Kenya with 26.37.

The closing event was also a gold-medal finish thanks to Angie Lizeth Pabón and her guide Luis Arizala, in an exciting T11 400-meter race, where they stopped the clock at 59.24 seconds. Silver went to Nancy Koech of Kenya, who clocked 1:05 minutes. India’s para-athlete Ravanni Valasanaini rounded out the podium with the bronze.

For Dayra Faisury Dorado, President of the Colombian Para Athletics Federation, “the expectations we had for this championship were met. Colombia has been growing year after year. In 2025, we demonstrated that we are among the top 5 in the world in Para Athletics, and everyone on this delegation contributed medals that positioned Colombia as the top country in this first Grand Prix. We will also have Colombian participation at other stops such as Notwill and Jalisco, in addition to the Cali Grand Prix in September.”

Here is Colombia’s total medal tally from the Para Athletics Grand Prix competitions in Dubai 2026:

1️⃣1️⃣🥇, 5️⃣🥈, and 4️⃣🥉:

🥇Mauricio Valencia, shot put F34 (12.05m)

🥇José Ramírez, 400m T38 (51.33s)

🥇Karen Palomeque, 200m T38 (26.69s)

🥇Diego Meneses, Javelin Throw F34 (35.77m)

🥇José Gregorio Lemos, Javelin Throw F38 (58.96m)

🥇Karen Palomeque, 100m T38 (17.79s)

🥇Angie Pabón, 200m T11 (26.13s)

🥇Angie Pabón, 400m T11 (59.24s)

🥇Juan Sebastián Gómez Coa, Long Jump T38 (6.20m)

🥇Andrés Mosquera, Discus Throw T38 (54.33m)

🥇Yefferson Suárez, 200m T37 (24.07s)

🥈Yefferson Suárez, 400m T37 (53.39s)

🥈Luis Lucumí, Javelin Throw F38 (56.72m)

🥈Mauricio Valencia, Javelin Throw F34 (35.01m)

🥈Erica Castaño, Discus Throw F55 (23.21m)

🥈Tomas Soto, Long Jump T64 (6.24m)

🥉Diego Meneses, Shot Put F34 (9.57m)

🥉Levin Moreno, Javelin Throw F38 (47.96m)

🥉Mayerly Buitrago, Shot Put F41 (9.08m)

🥉 Yasiris Blandón, Javelin Throw F13 (30.01m)

The delegation traveled with a technical team consisting of coaches Alonso Mina, Osmany García, and Freiman Arias, as well as a methodology specialist and a biomedical team of physical therapists and a doctor. This Colombian national team received support from the Ministry of Sports through the Colombian Paralympic Committee.

Meet today’s medalists in Dubai: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtKksmkbvP/?igsh=cnZuZTIzNHFkbjQ=

Nine cities across four continents will host the World Para Athletics circuit for the 2026 season, including Cali, Colombia.

The season begins in February with the first stop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from February 10 to 13, at the Club for People with Determination Stadium—as people with disabilities are referred to in this country.

From March 11 to 13, the second stop will be in New Delhi, India, the former host of the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.

The third stop will be in April, from April 23 to 25 in Rabat, Morocco, and in May, from the 8th to the 11th, the fourth stop will be in Jalisco, Mexico.

Also in May, from the 21st to the 23rd, the competition will take place in Notwill, Switzerland, the fifth stop on the 2026 calendar.

In the second half of the year, Tunisia will host the sixth stop from June 16 to 19, while Olomouc, Czech Republic, will host the seventh stop from July 2 to 4, exclusively for female athletes.

And Cali, Colombia, will close out the year with the final stop in September, from the 17th to the 20th of that month.

The official calendar can be viewed on the official World Para Athletics website: https://www.paralympic.org/athletics