The impression appeared to be backed up yesterday when a Lima 2019 weakness looked to have contributed to the host nation enjoying double gold on the first morning of the Games.

Both the men’s and women’s marathons, it has been suggested, were moved from the end of the Games to the start to coincide with national holidays when the normally gridlocked roads of the capital might prove quieter and more manageable.

The result was an immediate boost for organisers, with Gladys Tejeda and Cristhian Pacheco’s victories in the two distance races giving the host nation gold medals.

The triumphs for Peru appear to have given the Games early momentum among the local population.

Another benefit was that Tejeda’s victory was a good story in itself, given that she saw her Toronto 2015 gold taken away over a positive drug test.

Whether you take the controversial view or the local Peruvian angle that Tejeda had gained revenge for being stripped of the title four years ago for an allegedly inadvertent case, it is clearly a positive for Lima 2019 that people are talking, writing and reading about the Pan American Games.

Pacheco certainly played his part by completing the marathon double, leading to front page spreads of the Peruvian runners standing next to the country’s President Martín Vizcarra on the podium, hoisting their nation’s flag.

The distance runner then gave further promotion to the Games today, when he suggested the event could have a lasting effect. Pacheco insisted success at a home Games would show that Peruvian athletes could compete for and win Olympic medals.

Following his comments and the subsequent standing ovation from local journalists, I was surprised to discover that Peru, remarkably, have only won four Olympic medals. Shooter Edwin Vásquez, who died in 1993, remains their only Olympic champion, his triumph coming at London 1948.

The other medals were a women's volleyball silver at Seoul 1988, along with shooting silvers at Los Angeles 1984 and Barcelona 1992.

I wonder whether Lima 2019 could help to end this drought.

You suspect the home Games could lead to a greater number of Peruvian athletes locking up Tokyo 2020 qualification places due to the benefit of competing in front of a home crowd.

After all, the early indicators are that the host nation will vastly surpass the three gold, three silver and six bronze they earned four years ago in Toronto, given the Peruvian team matched the achievement on the first day here.

Panam Sports Coordination Commission head Keith Joseph earlier this week did what sporting officials do regularly, as he suggested the Games would deliver a great future for young people.

“Our projects are meaningful, impactful and sustainable,” he said. “What we have here is a milestone that will impact the lives of Peruvians, impact the lives of the people of Lima and impact the youth of the Americas.”

The President of Lima 2019, Carlos Neuhaus, went a little further.

"Lima 2019 has consolidated a new generation of Peruvians with new facilities,” he said. “Let's take this opportunity to make sport the centre of our lives. Peru has as its new standard ambitious projects made according to our needs.

“We did it together, the success belongs to everyone, together we are achieving the most spectacular event in our history. We win together, united."

This is a topic that is contentious and used regularly by opponents to multi-sport events. 

Events like the London 2012 Olympic Games have promised to inspire millions to get off the couch and become more active. But they have repeatedly been found to have had limited or no impact on participation levels.

Personally, I am unconvinced that the Peruvian population will suddenly take up sports like rugby sevens having had the opportunity to watch them at the Games. 

I suspect the sports that were popular prior to the Games, such as football, will remain that way in two weeks’ time when the event draws to a close.

But if we focus entirely on a high-performance perspective, it seems possible that the Games could help Peru.

Neuhaus pointed out at the Panam Sports General Assembly that the Games had led to legislation being introduced to boost the provision of sport in schools in Peru. 

While it might not necessarily lead to medal success in Japan’s capital city next year, you wonder whether it could lead to greater talent-spotting with potential stars of the future being found.

If we are to believe the hype from Lima 2019 and Panam Sports, the new venues are the best in the region. 

Why then shouldn’t the facilities built for the Pan American Games here ultimately help to deliver long-term medal success for Peru at both Pan American and Olympic Games level?

This will undoubtedly be the long-term task for Peruvian sporting bodies, who will hope to utilise the facilities to bring back Olympic medals to Lima.

It will be interesting to see over the next couple of weeks whether Peru’s staging of the Pan American Games has led to new talent emerging with the potential of securing podium finishes at Tokyo 2020.