Pan-American Games

As a prelude to each of the Olympic Games, the Pan-American Games gather the best athletes in America of different disciplines. Discover more about this event.

As a prelude to each Olympic Games, the Pan-American Games gather the best athletes in America from different disciplines. This year’s Games are being held in Lima, Peru. Discover some of the most important facts about this wonderful event.

These games are held every four years, and always during the year prior to each edition of the Olympic Games. Days after the end of the event, the Parapan American Games, aimed at those athletes with physical disabilities, take place in the same city.

In addition to being an excellent preparation for the Olympic Games for the participating athletes, the Pan-American Games are a very important event by themselves. In the following article, we’ll answer some basic questions related to these Games.

Disciplines included in the Pan American Games

The entity responsible for organizing and supervising this competition is PASO, or Pan-American Sports Organization. As with the Olympic Games, the Olympic Charter describes the spirit and regulations of each event.

During each edition of the Pan-American Games, more than 30 sports are present. About six thousand athletes participating in them, all hope to win a gold medal. The classic symbols of the flag and the torch are present, as they are in the maximum event of world sport.

Regarding the sports participating at the Games, the program consists of the typical Olympic sports with the addition of some other disciplines. These include bowling, futsal, racquetball, sambo, and polo.

The story of the Pan-American Games

Esteban Mosquera López was the ideologist of the Pan-American Games, first held in the city of Dallas, in the United States, in 1937. However, this experience was not entirely successful.

After that, Buenos Aires (1942) was the next scheduled Games. However, World War II made it impossible for the Games to continue, postponing them indefinitely. Thus, nine years later, the Argentine capital hosted the first Pan American Games in 1951.

This year (2019) will be the eighteenth edition of these games; the previous ones were in Toronto -Canada, in 2015 and in Guadalajara -Mexico, in 2011. One of the peculiarities of these Games is that the participation of countries that are legally under the jurisdiction of another, such as Puerto Rico or Bermuda, is allowed. This is something that sets them apart from the Olympic Games.

Pan-American Games: top winners

What are the most successful countries in the Pan American Games? As is also happens in the Olympic Games, the United States leads the ranking widely, holding 4430 medals. Out of those, 1948 are gold medals.

Cuba ranks second, with 2026, and Canada is very close. Within the top five are Brazil, with 1207 medals, and Argentina, with 1060 medals. Aruba and the British Virgin Islands are the only participants who have never gotten a medal.

Lima Pan-American Games 2019

According to the official website of this competition, this year’s Games will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2019. In the Lima Pan-American Games 2019, 6680 athletes from all over America will be part of the different events. Likewise, 61 disciplines from 39 different sports will be played.

Lima Parapan American Games 2019

As we mentioned, this event will take place just after the Pan-American Games. They’ll begin on August 23 and will close on September 1. With 1890 American athletes present, there’ll be 19 sports modalities in these Games.

In order to  distinguish them from their Olympic counterparts, the organization decided to add t he prefix ‘para-‘. Basketball, football 5 and 7, badminton, swimming, weightlifting, and table tennis are only some of the sports present at the Games. Logically, all sports are adapted to the abilities of athletes.

In short, both the Pan American and Parapan American Games have experienced steady growth since its creation. Although many criticize the lack of ancient sports of Native Americans such as lacrosse, there’s no doubt that these Games are essential for the development of sports on the continent.