Lopez progressed through the early rounds of the competition as he looked to improve on his silver medal at the 2013 event, where he lost to his sibling Luis.

The two would meet again in the gold medal match in Nicaragua, with José López emerging as the winner on this occasion by a 13-9 score.

Luis Largaespada of Nicaragua and El Salvador's Carlos Ceceña were awarded bronze medals, having lost their semi-final bouts.

Panama's Eileen Grench emerged as the clear winner of the women's sabre event as she took gold for the second consecutive Games.

Grench secured a 15-2 win over Silvia Herrera of Guatemala in the final.

Guatemala's Diana Huertas and her team-mate Kreestel Fraatz rounded off the podium positions in the event.

Medals continued to flow for the Guatemalan team, with Cristian Mox Areas winning the men's 57 kilogram freestyle wrestling event.

He overcame Erick Romero of Nicaragua in the final, while Honduras' Brandon Escobar and David Pinilla of Panama took the bronze.

Hosts Nicaragua were denied in the men's 65kg competition, as Ramón Mendieta suffered defeat in the gold medal match to Luis Portillo of El Salvador.

The podium was completed by Honduras' David Brooks and Guatemala's Wilson Pérez.

Honduras' Luis Barrios won the men's 74kg competition by beating Guatemala's Marvin Danilo Miranda in the final, with El Salvador's Germán Rodríguez and Nicaragua's Wilbert Martínez taking bronze.

Barrios’' team-mate Kevin Mejía then secured gold in the 97kg category, as he saw off the challenge of home favourite José Alejandro Gonzales.

Rodolfo Waite of Panama won the 125kg classification, as he beat Honduras' Randy Lambert in the final.

Competition will continue tomorrow at the event, which is open to the seven countries of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Around 3,500 athletes are participating at the Games, which will run until December 17.