The presence of American hurdler Alaysha Johnson in the 100m hurdles final added an extra dimension to the competition, given her regular appearances at Diamond League meetings. However, Johnson had shown in the heats that she was far from her personal best (12.35) and her best time of the year (12.37). In fact, she hadn't even made it to the World Championships after failing to qualify at the Trials.

With Johnson not performing at her best, the field opened up for potential gold medallists and Costa Rica's Andrea Vargas took her chance. She successfully defended the title she won in Lima four years ago, clocking 13.06 seconds to win her country's second gold medal at the Pan Am Games. The first was won by Nery Brenes in the 400m at the Mexico Games 12 years ago. Cuba's Greisys Roble took silver with in 13.09, while a disappointed Johnson had to settle for bronze (13.19).

Eduardo Rodrigues also made history winning Brazil's first-ever gold at the Pan Am Games in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.67 (although not close to his personal best of 13.28). Brazil had previously only won bronze in the event with Márcio de Souza at Santo Domingo 2003 and Eduardo de Deus at Lima 2019. American De'vion Wilson (13.78) and Brazilian Rafael Henrique Campos (14.04) also finished on the podium.

Chilean sprinter Martina Weil delighted the crowd, as did Lucas Nervi in the discus and Santiago Ford in the decathlon the day before. Despite starting almost a second behind Guyanese sprinter Aliyah Abrams, the resilient Chilean showed her mettle on the backstretch and in the bend. She maintained her form as the lactic acid built up and eventually took the win in 51.48 seconds. She was followed by Ecuador's Nicole Daysi Caicedo (51.76) and Evelis Jazmin Aguilar (51.95). 

Weil didn't just win Chile's first ever medal in the event at the Pan Am Games... she also became Chile's first ever finalist! This achievement, along with three gold and one silver medal, puts Chile level on the medals table with Peru (three gold and three bronze).

In the men's final, Colombian sprinter Anthony Zambrano, the reigning Olympic 400 m silver medallist, stood out with a personal best of under 44 seconds. However, he was far from his best form and was even disqualified despite finishing third in a close race. Victory went to Brazilian Lucas Coinceição, who clocked 45.77 seconds to claim Brazil's first gold medal in the event. His achievement follows the bronze medals won by Gérson de Souza in Caracas 40 years ago and Delmo da Silva in Mexico City in 1975. Mexico's Luis Antonio Avilés took silver with a time of 45.97, while Chile's Martín Kouyoumdjian won bronze (46.58).

The other gold went to the renowned American De'Anna Pryce in the hammer throw, with a mark of 72.34 metres. She came into the competition somewhat out of form after winning bronze at the World Championships in Budapest. Venezuela's Rosa Andreina Rodríguez took silver with 71.59 metres, while Canada's Kaila Butler was third with 65.10. It was a spectacular disappointment for American thrower Brooke Andersen, who came in with a mark of over 80 metres, but picked up three fouls. Had she thrown 20 metres less than her best, she would have had three more attempts.

Finally, the USA are in a strong position to secure the top two places in the heptathlon. With three events remaining on Thursday, Erin Marsh leads with an impressive 3,520 points after her spectacular performance in the 100m hurdles (13.39), followed by her compatriot Jordan Virginia Gray on 3,423 points. Alysbeth Felix of Puerto Rico is a distant third on 3,211 points.