Havana, October 26 (RHC) - Three great sports stars invited to the Santiago-2023 Pan American Games on Thursday praised the organization of the event, while the head of Panam Sports, Neven Ilic, confirmed Barranquilla as the next host city in 2027.

Javier Sotomayor, Serguei Bubka and Mijaín López answered questions from dozens of journalists who gathered at the Press Center (MPC) together with Ilic and the executive director of the Pan American Games, Harold Mayne-Nicholls.

The "Giants of Sport", as the promotional poster announced, talked about their stories in the world of muscle, in the case of the two Cubans especially in the Pan American Games, as well as the significance of the Games, the level of the facilities and the competitors that have been presented in Chile.

They all highlighted the great response of the Chilean public, which has practically filled the stands, as well as the comfort and technical quality of most of the facilities, which they considered to be world class.

In response to a question from the Colombian press, Ilic confirmed that after leaving behind some doubts and receiving all the guarantees from the Colombian Ministry of Sports and the Government of Barranquilla, at the closing ceremony the Colombian city will be awarded the flag to host the next event in 2027.

Panam Sports announced that other sports legends will be present at another press conference on Saturday: Americans Carl Lewis and Mike Powell, and Dominican Felix Sanchez.