The 20-year-old Echevarría opened with 8.09m, but Gayle responded with 8.17m in round two. Echevarría jumped 8.06m in round three, while Gayle recorded 8.10m. In the fourth round, however, the Cuban leapt to 8.27m, which proved sufficient to win as Gayle fouled his last three attempts. Uruguay’s Emiliano Lasa was third with 7.87m, retaining the bronze medal he earned in 2015.

The last Cuban to win the Pan-Am Games long jump title was multiple world champion Iván Pedroso, who won his third consecutive Pan-Am title in 2003.

Jamaica’s Natoya Goule took the women’s 800m title in 2:01.26. Goule controlled the race at 400m (1:00.10) and was the strongest on the second lap, holding off the challenge from Cuba’s Rose Mary Almanza (2:01.64) and Uruguay’s Deborah Rodríguez (2:01.66).

Trinidad and Tobago’s Tyra Gittens leads the heptathlon with 3766 points after clocking 13.63 in the 100m hurdles, clearing 1.83m in the high jump, throwing 13.43m in the shot put and running 24.19 in the 200m. Cuba’s Adriana Rodríguez is currently second with 3730 ahead of USA’s Annie Kunz (3613).