Pan American Games Santiago 2023: Athletics preview, full schedule & how to watch live PanAm track and field action
The athletics competitions is expected to deliver drama and delight at Santiago 2023 from 29 October to 4 November. Some of the draw cards include world champions Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and Canada's Ethan Katzberg.
Athletics
Athletics is one of the flagship sports at the Pan American Games attracting some of the world’s big names in the sport.
The 2023 Pan American Games will be no different with track and field stars from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean set to battle it out for continental glory.
The 19th edition of the PanAm Games will see the likes of Anderson Peters (Grenada), Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic), Fedrick Dacres (Jamaica), and Ethan Katzberg (Canada).
Below we unpack everything you need to know about the athletics competition at the 2023 PanAm Games.
Athletes to watch in the athletics competition at the 2023 Pan American Games
The athletics programme kicks off with the men's and women's marathons on October 22 with the track and field events at the Julio Martínez National Stadium in Santiago, Chile starting on 30 October.
The PanAm Games will welcome some of the newly minted world champions such as Canadian hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg and Dominican superstar Marileidy Paulino.
Katzberg became Canada's first-ever world champion in the discipline and the youngest man to win the hammer throw title at the World Championships in Budapest earlier this year. The 21-year-old sensation set a Canadian record in the process. Canada also included women’s world shot put silver medallist Sarah Mitton. The North Americans are sending a relatively inexperienced team to the Games with 20 of the 24 athletes making their debut in Santiago.
Dominican Republic sprinting queen Marileidy Paulino will make her second appearance at the PanAm Games where she is expected to compete in a relay event. The newly crowned world 400m champion made her debut four years ago in the 100m and 200m in Lima 2019. The Olympic silver medallist wrote history earlier this year becoming the first Dominican woman to win a world title.
A throwing invasion at PanAm Games
Anderson Peters, Grenada’s two-time world javelin throw champion, will be among the main attractions at the Games where he will be looking to clinch back-to-back titles. Peters was crowned world champion in 2021 and 2022 before he conceded his crown missing out on a spot in the final at this year’s global championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Former world discus throw silver medallist Fedrick Dacres will lead Jamaica’s charge at the Games where he will be looking to defend his title from Lima 2019.
On the track, Commonwealth Games champion Aisha Praught-Leer (Jamaica) will be moving up in distance to the 5,000m after winning silver in the women’s 1,500m four years ago.
Traditionally the strong athletics nation at the PanAm Games, the United States will send a 77-member team made up of 40 men and 37 women. Team USA won 33 medals - seven gold, 14 silver, and 12 bronze - and leads the overall medal tally by more than double the next highest nation, Cuba.
The United States will be spearheaded by former women's hammer throw champions DeAnna Price and Brooke Andersen, who will be fighting it out for continental supremacy in Santiago.
Price won the world title in 2019 and stepped onto the podium in Budapest 2023, winning the bronze medal. Andersen, the 2022 world champion will have some extra motivation as she looks to upgrade the silver she won in Lima 2019.
Triple jumper Omar Craddock will return to the Games to defend his title while Marisa Howard is aiming to improve on her women's 3,000 steeplechase silver from Lima 2019.
Santiago 2023 will also welcome past heroes of the PanAm Games including America’s nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis and world long jump record holder Mike Powell. Two-time Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic will also be in Santiago. Lewis coaches five-time Mexican champion Cecilia Tamayo-Garza, who will be in action at the Games.
Track and field schedule at Santiago 2023 Pan American Games:
All times Santiago local time (UTC -3 hours)
22 October
- 07:00 - Men's marathon
- 07:15 - Women's marathon
29 October
- 07:00 - Women’s 20 km walk final
- 09:30 - Men’s 20km walk final
30 October
- 15:30 - Decathlon 100m
- 16:10 - Decathlon long jump
- 17:40 - Decathlon shot put
- 17:55 - Women’s discus throw finak=l
- 19:00 - Women’s long jump final
- 19:15 - Decathlon high jump
- 19:40 - Men’s discus throw final
- 19:46 - Women’s 10,000 m final
- 20:35 - Decathlon 400m
- 21:00 - 4x400m mixed relay final
31 October
- 09:00 - Decathlon 110m hurdles
- 09:40 - Decathlon discus throw
- 11:00 - Decathlon pole vault
- 18:00 - Men’s long jump final
- 18:20 - Decathlon javelin throw
- 19:55 - Men’s 5,000m final
- 20:35 - Decathlon 1,500m
- 20:50 - Women’s 100m final
- 21:00 - Men’s 100m final
1 November
- 17:00 - Heptathlon 100m hurdles
- 17:20 - Women’s hammer throw final
- 17:45 - Heptathlon high jump
- 19:42 - Heptathlon shot put
- 19:48 - Women’s 100m hurdles final
- 20:03 - Men’s 110m hurdles final
- 20:23 - Women’s 400m final
- 20:31 - Men’s 400m final
- 20:52 - Heptathlon 200m
2 November
- 17:30 - Women’s pole vault final
- 17:40 - Heptathlon long jump
- 18:15 - Women’s shot put final
- 19:05 - Heptathlon javelin throw
- 19:15 - Men’s 1,500m final
- 19:35 - Women’s 5,000m final
- 19:45 - Men’s triple jump final
- 20:00 - Women’s 200m final
- 20:10 - Men’s 200m final
- 20:30 - Heptathlon 800m
- 20:47 - Women’s 4x100m relay final
- 21:00 - Men’s 4x100m relay final
3 November
- 17:25 - Men’s shot put final
- 17:30 - Men’s high jump final
- 17:35 - Women’s 400m hurdles final
- 17:40 - Men’s 400m hurdles final
- 18:50 - Women’s triple jump final
- 18:55 - Men’s 10,000m final
- 19:15 - Women’s javelin throw final
- 20:10 - Women’s 1,500m final
4 November
- 06:30 - Marathon race walk mixed relay final
- 17:00 - Men’s hammer throw final
- 17:30 - Men’s pole vault final
- 18:00 - Women’s 800m final
- 18:15 - Men’s 800m final
- 19:15 - Women’s high jump final
- 19:20 - Women’s 3,000m steeplechase final
- 19:35 - Men’s 3,000m steeplechase final
- 19:40 - Men’s javelin throw final
- 20:35 - Men’s 4x400m relay final
- 20:45 - Women’s 4x400m relay final
How to watch athletics at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games
To watch the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, you can tune into the various TV broadcasters and on-demand streaming provided by the broadcasters, including the Olympic Channel. The list includes:
- Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app - worldwide coverage of the boxing competition
- Fubo TV (subscription required) in USA and Canada
- PanAm Sports Channel in USA, Canada, and Jamaica
- Chilevision, TVN and Canal 13in Chile
- Canal Olímpico do Brasil and CazéTV in Brazil