by Xavira Neggers Crescioni

PR DAILY SUN

The approximately $400 million in 20 infrastructure projects online for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayagüez is either ready or near completion, and will be up by the time the games commence July 17, Gov. Fortuño said Wednesday.

The governor made the comments after meeting with the Interagency Committee spearheading preparations for the games and visiting the Sports and Recreation Department’s Training Center for High Performance Athletes in San Juan.

“The reason for all this is you the athletes,” Fortuño told members of group of 36 athletes who receive $2.5 million a year from the government to support their training, much less than say Colombia, which spends about $60 million a year to support its high performance athletes.

“The 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayagüez are the axis of our strategy of promoting Puerto Rico as a sports destination and to support and develop high performance sports on an international scale,” said Fortuño, who was accompanied by Sports and Recreation Secretary Henry Neumann.

“The preparation and training of our Puerto Rican athletes is a high priority for us. It is indispensable for us to offer them our unconditional support, and it is for this reason that I have come here today to meet with them and their trainers, to give them the support that they need,” Fortuño said.

During his visit, the governor met with athletes who will compete in the sports of archery, fencing, weight lifting, judo, Taekwondo and boxing.

Neumman said he opened the center so that the island’s high performance athletes would have one place where they could have the necessary equipment to meet and train, instead of moving from venue to venue as had been the case in the past.

“I am fully confident that our athletes will make Puerto Rico a competitive force in these games. We are going to shine. The work of our athletes and our people who are hosting these games, marks and important highlight in Puerto Rican sports,” Fortuño said.

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