WHO AND WHERE: 6,800 athletes from 41 countries from the Americas and Caribbean will compete in Santiago, Chile. Canada will send a team of 473 athletes.
WHEN: Opening ceremonies are Friday, but preliminary competition was scheduled to get underway Wednesday. The closing ceremony is Nov. 5.
WHAT: The Pan Am Games held every four years will feature 39 sports, including 61 disciplines, in 2023. The first Pan Ams were held in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Parapan American Games for para athletes Nov. 16-26 are also in Santiago.
WHY: Pan Am Games fall the year before a Summer Olympics, so the Games serve as an Olympic qualifier in many sports. It's the first multi-sport games in many athletes' lives, so Santiago is both a dress rehearsal and proving ground for Paris 2024.
CANADA: Hosted the Pan American/Parapan American Games in Toronto (2015) and the Pan Ams in Winnipeg (1967, 1999). Canada ranks third all-time in medals won behind the United States and Cuba and ahead of Brazil in fourth.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
