The women’s event saw the Costa Rica’s team dominate from the start of the race at Lake Xolotlán in Nicaragua.

Milagro Mena and Adriana Rojas broke clear of the field in the opening laps of the competition, with the duo going head-to-head to the finish.

Rojas appeared to have won the event, but she was forced to settle for the silver medal when a photo-finish revealed Mena had crossed the line first.

The duo finished over six minutes clear of their nearest rival, with Guatemala’s Florinda Isabel de León taking the bronze.

Andrey Fonseca prevailed in the men’s competition, with the Costa Rican having seen off a strong challenge of Jonathan de León Paz.

Fonseca triumphed in 1 hour 35min 58sec, with his Guatemalan rival ending nine seconds adrift to win bronze.

Carlos Herrera added to the Costa Rican medal haul, as he ended in 1:36:38 to secure the bronze.

Guatemala’s Luis Mario Taracena achieved one of the performances of the day, as he triumphed in the men’s javelin competition with a Games record throw of 71.78 metres.

As well as beating the previous record, which had stood since 1997, Taracena became first Guatemalan to throw over the 70m mark.

He finished clear of Panama’s Jonathan Cedeno and Rowe Miranda, who rounded off the podium places.

They achieved distances of 66.29m and 59.92m respectively.

Merlin Chalí secured another Guatemalan gold, as she won the women’s 10,000m title in 38.05.80.

She was followed by team-mate Evelyn Chavez, who secured the silver medal in a time of 38:08.34.

Bronze was earned by Costa Rica’s Jenny Mendez.

The Games are due to continue tomorrow.