Athletes from the United States and Cuba took all of the gold medals on Saturday's opening day of the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
After months of worrying whether the host Dominican Republic would finish all the venues in time, and a domestic controversy about the cost of staging the event, the Games finally began with Cuba taking the first gold. Eglis Cruz won the women's 10-meter air rifle in shooting, with a Games record of 497.4 points. Shooting is one of eight sports being used as qualifying contests for next year's Olympics.
Mexico was held to an embarrassing 1-1 draw by Guatemala in soccer and Argentina smashed an astonishing 30 goals past the Dominican Republic in men's hockey.
The next four golds went to the United States. Dan Kellner won the men's individual foil and Sada Jacobson the women's individual saber in fencing. The Americans also won the women's team gymnastics gold and one in shooting, where Jason Turner took the men's 10-meter air pistol.
Cuba took the day's last remaining gold by winning the men's team gymnastics ahead of Brazil and the U.S.