Minister Darrell Congratulates Parapan Athletes
Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport Owen Darrell congratulated Jessica Lewis and Yushae DeSilva-Andrade on their medal wins at the 2023 Parapan Games in Chile.
Bermuda finished the Games in 13th place on the medal table, an impressive showing for a small island, as the Games included over 30 nations; the US, Canada and countries in the Caribbean and South America. In addition to the two medal wins, Omar Hayward placed 4th in boccia, marking a very strong showing by the entire team.
A Government spokesperson said, “The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Owen K. Darrell, JP, has expressed congratulations to Paralympians Jessica Lewis and Yushae DeSilva-Andrade on winning gold and silver medals respectively in the 2023 Parapan American Games, in Satiago Chile.”
Jessica Lewis recorded a commanding win to mark her third consecutive Parapan 100m victory
Minister Darrell said, “I want to send a huge congratulations on behalf of the Government of Bermuda to Jessica Lewis and Yushae DeSilva-Andrade for their monumental achievements at the Parapan American Games.
“The sense of pride in our athletes who have competed and won medals in this year’s games cannot be overstated.
“I look forward to meeting with Jessica and Yushae when they return home to Bermuda and to join in the celebration of their awesome achievement.
“Jessica was the first Bermudian to compete at the Para Pan American Games in Mexico in 2011. Her time of 16.71 secs in Santiago over the weekend, sets a new Parapan Am Games record and sends a clear message to her fellow athletes ahead of the 2024 Paralympic games in Paris.
“Yushae DeSilva-Andrade won a silver medal in the B1 Boccia event in this year’s Parapan Am Games after having made her Paralympic debut in 2016. This silver medal win follows her gold medal finish at the Brazil World Boccia in Brazil in September of this year.”
Yushae DeSilva- Andrade claimed the silver medal in boccia:
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Bermuda Paralympic Association and other key stakeholders who have made Bermuda’s success at these games possible,” the Minister added.
