# Athletics at the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games

The athletics competition in the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games were held at the Estadio Nacional in Panama City, Panama. It was the first time women's events were included.

## Medal summary
### Men's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Jennings Blackett Panama | 10.4 | Jacinto Ortiz Cuba | 10.4e | Eulalio Villodas Puerto Rico | 10.6e |
| 200 metres | Jacinto Ortiz Cuba | 21.7 | Eulalio Villodas Puerto Rico | 21.8e | Arthur Jones Jamaica | 22.0e |
| 400 metres | Arturo Baker Panama | 49.7 | Adolfo Curiel Mexico | | Gilberto Castruita Mexico | |
| 800 metres | Arthur Wint Jamaica | 1:56.3 | Alfredo Mariscal Mexico | 1:56.6e | Pedro Zúñiga Mexico | 1:56.7e |
| 1500 metres | Guy Grant Jamaica | 4:13.6 | Alfredo Cortés Mexico | 4:13.8e | Miguel Corona Mexico | |
| 5000 metres | Guy Grant Jamaica | 17:55.1 | Jesús Borgonio Mexico | | Maríano Ramírez Mexico | |
| 10,000 metres | Agustín Romero Mexico | 34:15.1 | Guadalupe Martínez Mexico | | José López El Salvador | |
| Marathon | José Thompson Panama | 03:01:04 | Estanislao Galicia Mexico | | Hilario Hernández Mexico | |
| 110 metres hurdles | Horacio Quiñones Puerto Rico | 14.8 | Teófilo Colón Puerto Rico | 14.9e | Roberto Sánchez Mexico | 15.2e |
| 400 metres hurdles | Evelio Espinosa Cuba | 55.8 | Salvador Torrós Puerto Rico | 55.9e | Arthur Wint Jamaica | |
| 4 x 100 m relay | Puerto Rico Eulalio Villodas Eugenio Guerra Rubén Malavé Gaspar Vázquez | 42.2 | Panama Teófilo Thomas Gilberto Campbell Jennings Blackett Carlos Belisario | 42.7e | Cuba Jacinto Ortiz José Acosta Norberto Verrier Hilario Sotolongo | 42.8e |
| 4 x 400 m relay | Panama Harold Scott Stanley Edgardo Wesley Chevans Arturo Baker | 3:21.5 | Mexico Adolfo Curiel Alfredo Mariscal Gilberto Castruita Enrique Sánchez | 3:23.0e | Cuba Armando Baluja Gerardo Casanova Luis Vázquez Evelio Espínola | 3:24.5e |
| High jump | Juan Luyanda Puerto Rico | 1.89 | Arturo Baker Panama | 1.87 | Juan Rafael Palmer Puerto Rico | 1.83 |
| Pole vault | Rigoberto Pérez Mexico | 3.74 | José Sabater Puerto Rico | 3.65 | Manuel Boyer Puerto Rico | 3.65 |
| Long jump | Juan Luyanda Puerto Rico | 6.75 | Juan Rafael Palmer Puerto Rico | 6.69 | Salvador Torrós Puerto Rico | 6.55 |
| Triple jump | Juan Rafael Palmer Puerto Rico | 13.86 | Juan Luyanda Puerto Rico | 13.76 | Orlando Bello Cuba | 13.75 |
| Shot put | Antulio Pietri Puerto Rico | 13.50 | Fernando Torres Puerto Rico | 13.30 | Ian Murphy Puerto Rico | 13.08 |
| Discus throw | Ian Murphy Puerto Rico | 42.42 | Heriberto Alonso Cuba | 40.73 | Miguel Gutiérrez Cuba | 40.47 |
| Hammer throw | Bernabé Sánchez Cuba | 39.85 | Francisco González Mexico | 38.18 | Ignacio Vázquez Cuba | 37.45 |
| Javelin throw | Antonio Figueroa Puerto Rico | 64.11 | Mario Salas Cuba | 58.76 | Wilfredo Benítez Mexico | 56.43 |
| Pentathlon | Salvador Torrós Puerto Rico | 3459 | Manuel Suárez Cuba | 3158 | Juan Luyanda Puerto Rico | 3097 |

### Women's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Nola Thorne Panama | 12.6 | Nilda Villaverde Panama | 12.6e | Adela Montilla Panama | 12.7e |
| 80 metres hurdles | Nola Thorne Panama | 13.3 | Aura Morales Panama | 13.6e | Nilda Villaverde Panama | |
| 4 x 100 m relay | Panama Natalia Taivez Nola Thorne Adela Montilla Nilda Villaverde | 51.3 | Cuba Marta Velasco Carmen Ortega Zenaida Castro Olga Agüero | | Jamaica Gertrude Messam Rhona Saunders Beryl Delgado Icis Clarke | |
| High jump | Lilia Wilson Panama | 1.41 | Beryl Delgado Jamaica | 1.39 | Isabel Sullivan Panama | 1.32 |
| Discus throw | Rebecca Coldberg Puerto Rico | 27.81 | Esperanza Morales Mexico | 24.89 | Irma Cornejo El Salvador | 23.89 |
| Javelin throw | Rebecca Coldberg Puerto Rico | 30.25 | Marina Soto Mexico | 29.30 | Florinda Viamontes Cuba | 28.16 |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Puerto Rico (PUR) | 11 | 7 | 6 | 24 |
| 2 | Panama (PAN) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
| 3 | Cuba (CUB) | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 |
| 4 | Jamaica (JAM) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Mexico (MEX) | 2 | 10 | 7 | 19 |
| 6 | El Salvador (ESA) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 81 |