I think I’ll end up crying,” says Alejandro Arango from Contento Films talking about Medellín and videos produced by the company to support the city’s candidacy to host the Youth Olympic Games, “Our city has so much to show.”

The ‘technical’ video was shown at Explora Park yesterday and includes aerial images of Medellín and its sporting, cultural and educational venues.

A ‘behind-the-scenes’ video is also in the works but is being kept confidential to avoid plagiarism. A third video, the one organizers call “the emotional one”, won’t be revealed until July, when the IOC announces the winner in Switzerland.

This Sunday’s soccer game between Nacional and Medellín is the first time coach Oscar Pérez goes up against Juan Carlos Osorio, a meeting that’s bound to be Experience vs. Youth.

“I don’t know the Medellín coach well. I understand he has been successful and that he is getting a well-deserved opportunity, but I don’t know the type of soccer he gives priority to,” Osorio said when asked about what he expects from his rival.

It will all come down to the players, who know perfectly well what to expect. Nacional forward, Jefferson Duque, for instance, said,  “We know they are coming out ready to give their lives for the institution. We will have to give our maximum effort if we want to win.”

The 2013 MotoGP season opened officially yesterday with the first free practice for the Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit in Doha, and world champion from Spain, Jorge Lorenzo, gave rivals a glimpse of the kind of racing they can expect.

Colombian racer, Yonny Hernández, is in Qatar for the fourth year in a row, debuting with the Paul Bird team. He hopes to do better than last year, when he got 14th place overall.

Medellín, along with Buenos Aires, Argentina and Glasgow in the United Kingdom, were announced as finalists to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. Guadalajara, Mexico and Rotterdam, Holland are no longer in the running.

The Youth Games are a chance for athletes between 14 and 18 years of age to participate in a program similar to the Olympic Games, but with fewer challenges. The first Youth Olympics took place in Singapore in 2010 and the second will be in Nanjing, China in 2014.

A visibly excited Aníbal Gaviria, Mayor of Medellín, said this is not a government victory but one that belongs to an entire society, and asked citizens to remain committed to earning the honor of hosting the Games.

Germán Naranjo and Elkin Serna won silver together at the Paralympics in London this past summer, but this weekend they’re after different things. In Medellín, Serna is being recognized in a ceremony at the ‘Cerro a Cerro’ race, which connects two hills: the Nutibara and the Volador; he will also be competing in the race.

“I am grateful for the act, for showing the community who Elkin Serna is,” the athlete said.

Meanwhile Naranjo is running the 15 Km race in Buga in hopes of securing a spot in Brazil’s traditional San Silvestre race, as well as financial support to get there.

Four years ago nobody dreamed Antioquia would rack up ten gold medals in canoeing, but the team did it with an unforgettable performance at the National Games.

This year a few issues are standing in the way of more optimistic predictions and even the most hopeful aren’t expecting more than eight gold medals. One of the main problems is that the team lost four of its male athletes and there was a lack of resources during training season, but it all got straightened out in May.

On the bright side, athletes like Edwin Amaya and Tatiana Muñoz, who contributed to the gold medal count four years ago, are also present this year; new athletes like Mateo Pérez and Handerson Holguin also show promise.

Two goals by Falcao sealed Colombia’s victory over Paraguay and pushed it through the door of the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. Paraguay, on the other hand, is in a bind after it’s fifth loss, which puts in in last place in the qualifiers.

Paraguay will face Perú in Asunción on Tuesday and Colombia will take a break from the tournament but will play a scrimmage game against Cameroon in Barranquilla.

Caldas native Oscar Sánchez, of GW Shimano, won the fourth stage of the RCN-Claro Classic, which finished in Pereira and had the cyclist’s family at the finish line as a bonus. After an impressive display of teamwork, GW Shimano took the top three slots in the stage; the overall leader of the competition, however, is still Spaniard Oscar Sevilla of Formesan-Bogotá.

“It was a great stage,” Sánchez said, “my teammates gave everything, they gave me the confidence to win this stage. What could be better than celebrating with my teammates?” The fifth stage, 213 Km between Pereira and Cali on a mostly flat surface, is on Wednesday.

Colombia has a strong presence in the Giro di Lombardia, known as the “classic of the dead leaves”, with 16 cyclists including newly crowned Gran Piemonte champion, Rigoberto Urán.

The race, which is 251 km from Bergam to Lecco, will also feature Philippe Gilbert sporting his new rainbow stripe jersey, earned at Valkenburg in the Netherlands last week; Gilbert will attempt his third win in the race.

Colombia’s men’s softball team secured a spot in the World Championships in New Zealand next year. In a double header, Colombia defeated its main rival, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.

The team did not, however, move on to the semi-finals of the Pan American Championship, currently underway in Medellín.