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Tlaxcala 2026: Host nation in focus as Grand Prix arrives in Latin America
Paralympic champions Juan Pablo Cervantes Garcia, Sherman Guity Guity and Praveen Kumar headline the penultimate Grand Prix of the season as 442 athletes from 26 nations prepare for four days of competition in Mexico 20 Jul 2026
The World Para Athletics Grand Prix arrives in Latin America for the final two events of the season, with Tlaxcala, Mexico, hosting the penultimate competition from 21-24 July, followed by Cali, Colombia, in September.
This will be the fifth consecutive year that Mexico has hosted a World Para Athletics Grand Prix, with the Tlaxcala region staging the event for the first time.
A total of 442 athletes (303 men and 139 women) from 26 nations will compete at the Una Nueva Historia Athletics Centre, battling for honours across four days of competition.
The Grand Prix will be streamed live on the Mexican Paralympic Committee’s YouTube channel.
Largest contingent
The spotlight will be on the host nation, which will field the largest contingent of 305 Para athletes (203 men and 102 women), led by Paris 2024 Paralympic champion Juan Pablo Cervantes Garcia.
Cervantes Garcia, a former wheelchair basketball player, will compete in the men’s 100m T54, an event in which he has won Paralympic gold and bronze medals.
He will be joined by other Paralympic stars, including Jose Rodolfo Chessani Garcia, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist in the men’s 400m T38, and Rosa Maria Guerrero Cazares, the Paris 2024 bronze medallist in the women’s discus throw F55.
Two-time Paralympic bronze medallist Leonardo de Jesus Perez Juarez (men’s 100m T52) and Rosa Carolina Castro Castro (women’s discus throw F38) will also be among those aiming to deliver strong performances for the home team.
Mexico’s large delegation will also provide young athletes with valuable exposure and the opportunity to compete alongside established international stars. Teenager Gael Santiago Garcia Montano, aged 14 years and 9 months, is the youngest member of the Mexican team and will compete in the men's 100m T38 and men's 400m T38 events.
Among the other American nations, Costa Rica have arrived in Mexico with three-time Paralympic gold medallist Sherman Guity Guity in their 14-member squad. The 29-year-old will compete in the men’s 100m T64 and 200m T64, the two events in which he claimed gold at Paris 2024.
At Tokyo 2020, Guity Guity won Costa Rica’s first-ever Paralympic gold medal when he clocked a Paralympic record of 21.43 seconds in the men’s 200m T64.
With so many Mexicans competing on home soil, the Tlaxcala Grand Prix is going to be spectacular! 🙌🇲🇽
— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) July 17, 2026
The Grand Prix will be broadcast on the Mexican Paralympic Committee’s YouTube Channel.#ParaAthletics pic.twitter.com/sDwKuOM9Yt
International names
With the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games now less than 100 days away, Indonesia and India will also have several leading athletes in action.
Paris 2024 silver medallists Saptoyogo Purnomo and Karisma Evi Tiarani will once again spearhead Indonesia’s campaign, this time in Mexico. The pair opened their seasons with gold medals in Tunis, underlining their strong form ahead of October’s Asian Para Games.
In addition to his signature event, the men’s 100m T37, Purnomo will also compete in the 4x100m universal relay, one of the highlights of the Grand Prix.
Tiarani will be aiming for another gold medal in the women’s 100m T42, an event in which she won silver at Paris 2024 and has two world titles. She will also compete in the women’s long jump T42.
India may be without several of its usual leading names, but Paris 2024 gold medallist Praveen Kumar will still headline an eight-member squad. Kumar will compete in men's high jump T44, an event in which he has two Paralympic medals and is the reigning Asian Para Games champion.
