Jessica Lee gave Haiti a historic moment on Monday, July 27, 2026, by winning the gold medal in the under 62 kg taekwondo category at the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games.
At the end of a perfectly controlled day, the Haitian athlete successively knocked out the Salvadoran Alisson Montano, the Dominican Mayerlin Mejía, before outclassing the Mexican Karla Rodriguez in the final. This victory gives the Haitian delegation its second medal of these Games, after the silver won by Valentina Francesca Lalanne in artistic skateboarding, and already allows Haiti to match its record from the 2023 edition in San Salvador.
The day had, however, started with a first hurdle to overcome. Facing the Salvadoran Alisson Montano in the quarterfinals, Jessica Lee immediately showed her ambitions. Solid on defense, precise in her attacks, and tactically flawless, the Haitian representative won in straight sets at Pavilion No. 2, securing her spot in the semifinals.A few hours later, the stakes got even higher against the Dominican Mayerlin Mejía, fueled by her crowd. In a hard-fought semi-final, Jessica Lee showed remarkable composure to turn things around. After losing the first set (3-8), she bounced back perfectly to win the next two (6-3, 4-2), taking the match two sets to one. This win already secured her a medal and opened the doors to the final.Facing the Mexican Karla Rodriguez, the Haitian left no room for doubt. Right from the first exchanges, she set the pace and asserted her authority to take the first set by the narrowest of margins (1-0), before putting on a show in the second, finishing with a stunning 9-0. With this two-set-to-zero victory, Jessica Lee became the Central American and Caribbean Games champion in her category, giving Haiti a long-awaited gold medal.
Overwhelmed with emotion after her victory, the new champion didn’t hide her pride in raising the Haitian flag to the top of the podium. She said she was deeply happy to have brought this gold medal to her country, a success that rewards years of work and sacrifice.
Haitian taekwondo, however, hasn’t yet written its final chapter in this 25th edition of the Games. All eyes are now on Jessica Lee’s older sister, Ava, who will compete this Tuesday on the last day of the discipline. After the younger sibling’s feat, the Haitian delegation hopes to keep the momentum going and finish their journey with another top-level performance.
