The Americas’ top para archers are heading to Peru for the Lima 2026 Para Pan American Championships, with coveted qualifying spots for next year’s Lima 2027 Parapan American Games up for grabs.
A total of 38 places will be awarded: nine in compound men and recurve men; seven in compound women and recurve women, and three in the W1 category across women and men.
The Para Pans features doubles competition, which will award the first qualifying spots in compound and recurve, with the remaining spots allocated based on the final rankings of the individual medal events. Four official spots earned during the 2026 Para South American Games in Valledupar will also be allocated after this event, as well as four spots for the Central American and Caribbean region.
The competition immediately follows the Santiago 2026 Hyundai World Archery Para Series in Chile, with much of the field heading north from one to the other.
One Peruvian athlete, Daniela Cecilia Campos Marzano made a big statement there, becoming the first archer from Peru to take gold on the World Para Series circuit in recurve women. Marzano won the VII Juegos Parapanamericanos Santiago 2023 three years ago, and in current winning form, might well be the favourite for a title defence next year.
The host nation earns spots by right, but some of the other Americas winners from Santiago – including the USA‘s Kevin Polish and Jason Tabansky and Brazil’s Thiago Pinheiro da Silva – will be keen to secure spots as early as possible, alongside stars such as Mexico’s Samuel Molina.
The event also includes under-21 and visually impaired (VI) divisions.
It‘s a busy para calendar this time of year, with all the top Asian athletes at the Asian Para Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. With Lima hosting the main event next year, athletes will be keen to make big impression in Peru.
Key information
What’s happening? The Para Pan American Championships are being held in Lima, the Peruvian capital on the Pacific coast. October marks spring in South America, and conditions are expected to be humid and overcast with sea breezes, mist and fog.
What’s at stake? Thirty-eight places for the continental Games next year, held in the same city.
Who’s competing? A total of 91 athletes representing 13 nations, across compound, recurve, W1 and VI.
What’s the story? Nailing down spots for major championships early is critical, and this tournament is no exception. With a dedicated qualifying event on Friday, expect fierce competition.
Schedule
- Thursday 22 October: Qualification
- Friday 23 October: Team eliminations, individual and team Para Pan qualifiers
- Saturday 24 October: Individual and team eliminations, bronze finals
- Sunday 25 October: Team and individual gold finals
How to watch
Watch live footage of the finals on Sunday 25 October with a subscription to archery+.
Live scores will be available on the World Archery website, with coverage across World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.
Who’s competing?
These are the top-ranked archers competing in Lima:
- Recurve men: Samuel Molina, Mexico (world rank: 2)
- Recurve women: Daniela Cecilia Campos Marzano, Peru (world rank: 4)
- Compound men: Kevin Polish, USA (world rank: 8)
- Compound women: Helena Nunes de Moraes, Brazil (world rank: 6)
- W1 men: Jason Tabansky, USA (world rank: 1)
- W1 women: Juliana Cristina Ferreira da Silva, Brazil (world rank: 5)
Competition at the Lima 2026 Para Pan American Championships begins with qualifying on Thursday.
