Pan American Games Santiago 2023: Ten emotional moments in PanAm Games history
Since its inception in 1951, the Pan American Games has produced moments that have captured the imagination and launched the careers of some of the world’s greatest athletes. Olympics.com looks back on 10 of the defining moments and legends of the PanAm Games.
If past editions are anything to go by, the 2023 Pan American Games is expected to dish up more memorable moments in Santiago, Chile, from 20 October to 5 November, with live coverage of boxing events on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
The continental multi-sport event has often served as a launching pad for athletes who went on to achieve great things at world championships and at the Olympic Games.
Carl Lewis (pictured above), Mijaín López, Clara Hughes, Paola Espinosa, and Mark Spitz are just some of the big names that have graced the Pan American Games. Read on for more.
Carl Lewis (USA) - Long jump and 4x100m relay
Nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis launched his illustrious career at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, winning the long jump bronze medal when he was just 17 years old.
Lewis went on to win track and field golds in for the USA in the men's 100m, 200m, long jump, and the 4x100m relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games to cement his place as a legend of the sport.
A year later he sizzled at his home Pan American Games in Indianapolis 1987, winning long jump gold in a championship record of 8.75 metres which remains untouched to this day. He added the 4x100m relay gold medal to his growing list of accolades.
He successfully defended his 100m sprint title at Seoul 1988 and ended his epic Olympic career by winning four consecutive titles in the long jump from Los Angeles 1984 through to Atlanta 1996.
Thiago Pereira (BRA) - Swimming
Olympic 400m individual medley silver medallist Thiago Pereira earned the moniker of ‘Mr Pan’, bowing out in Toronto 2015 as the most decorated athlete in the history of the continental multi-sport event.
The Brazilian swimming legend amassed a total of 23 medals - including 15 gold - across four editions. Pereira won a silver (200m medley) and bronze (400m medley) at his maiden Pan American Games at Santo Domingo 2003.
He delivered his most memorable moment four years later with a sizzling display on home soil at the Rio 2006 PanAm Games where he won a record six golds, a silver, and a bronze. To add more sparkle to his performance, Pereira surpassed U.S. legend Mark Spitz’s PanAm Games record for gold medals.
Pereira repeated the feat in Guadalajara 2011 before bringing the curtain down in Toronto 2015 with three relay gold medals.
Mark Spitz (USA) – Swimming
Before becoming an Olympic swimming legend, Mark Spitz earned his stripes at the PanAm Games in Winnipeg, Canada in 1967.
A 17-year-old catapulted himself into the global consciousness competing at his first and only Pan American Games with a championship record haul of five gold medals. His PanAm record stood for 40 years before Pereira won six golds at the 2007 edition.
At his maiden Olympics at the 1968 Mexico City Games, Spitz did not quite live up to his own lofty expectations winning two relay gold medals, silver and bronze in individual events.
Four years later at the 1972 Munich Games, Spitz won all seven events he entered in world record-breaking times.
He held the record for most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games for 36 years before American icon Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing 2008.
Paola Espinosa (MEX) – Diving
The Mexican diver has been a dominant figure in her discipline, clinching 15 medals - eight gold, three silver, and four bronze medals - making her the most decorated Mexican athlete at the PanAm Games.
The two-time Olympic medallist made a stunning debut in Santa Domingo 2003, winning two silver medals in the 10m and 3m synchro events. Highlighting her class, Espinosa won gold medals at three consecutive PanAms in 2007, 2011, and 2015.
Espinosa's crowning achievement came four years later in Rio 2007, winning a medal in all four women’s diving events including three golds. She repeated the feat at the following PanAm Games in Guadalajara 2011.
Mexico and Brazil sharing gold – Football
The men’s football final at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City delivered one of the most bizarre results in the clash between Mexico and Brazil.
Playing in front of 105,000 spectators at the Estadio Azteca, the two sides were deadlocked on 1-1 after regulation time.
During extra time the stadium lights dimmed dramatically, resulting in pitch evasions, ultimately leading to the match being abandoned after 108 minutes.
Tournament officials ruled that Brazil and Mexico should share the spoils and they were both awarded the gold medal. FIFA later ordered a rematch, but the Brazilian delegation had already returned home which meant the result would stand.
Undated: General view of Sylvia Poll swimming. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport
Silvia Poll (CRC) – Swimming
Costa Rican legend Silvia Poll set the pool alight at the Indianapolis 1987 Pan American Games, winning a record eight medals - three gold, three silver, and two bronze - her country’s first podium finishes in PanAm swimming.
The 16-year-old Poll blazed a new trail for her nation, winning the first Pan Am Games gold medal in Costa Rica’s history.
Her stunning performances in Indianapolis laid the groundwork for her biggest achievement; becoming Costa Rica’s first-ever Olympic medallist with a silver in the 200m freestyle at Seoul 1988.
Mijaín López (CUB) – Wrestling
Considered one of the greats of his sport, Cuba’s Mijaín López won his first major Greco-Roman wrestling title in the 120kg category at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
The victory was the first building block in the making of one of amateur wrestling’s most dominant athletes. López has since been unbeaten at the PanAms, winning five consecutive gold medals adding titles in Rio 2007, Guadalajara 2011, Toronto 2015, and Peru 2019. The 41-year-old López will be aiming for sixth when he steps onto the mat in Santiago.
Cuba’s most decorated athlete has won four consecutive Olympic gold medals since Beijing 2008 and boasts five world championship titles.
Eric Lopez (CUB) – Gymnastics
Cuban gymnast Eric Lopez is the golden boy of the Pan American Games. Lopez won an incredible 18 gold medals - the most in the history of the continental Games for the Americas - over four editions from Havana 1991 to Santo Domingo 2003.
Lopez reserved his finest performance for his final appearance at the multi-sport event, winning six gold medals in eight competitions.
He bowed out undefeated in the men's all-around and parallel bars events reaching the top of the podium at four consecutive Pan American Games.
Lopez could not convert his unrivalled success at the Pan American Games in his appearances at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics. He did manage to win silver in the parallel bars at the 2001 World Championships in Ghent.
Clara Hughes (CAN) – Cycling
Canada’s multi-sport legend waited 12 years before she could finally get her hands on a gold medal at the Pan American Games, winning track cycling’s points race competition in Santo Domingo 2003.
During this time Hughes was juggling both summer and winter sports and cementing her place as a sporting superstar.
Hughes started out as a speed skater but also dabbled in cycling which brought her early PanAm success winning silver in track cycling in the individual pursuit event in Habana 1991. Four years later in Mar del Plata 1995 she won silver in the road race and bronze in the time trial.
Demonstrating her incredible versatility, Hughes has won six Olympic medals in six Games - four in speed skating and two in road racing.
At the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, she became the first athlete in history to win multiple Olympic medals at both the Summer and Winter Games winning gold in the 5000m and silver in the team pursuit.
Félix Savón (CUB) - Boxing
A heavyweight both in size and in reputation, Félix Savón is one of the Olympic boxing greats etching his name into the annals courtesy of his incredible list of accolades on the global stage.
Savón was crowned Pan American Games champion in Indianapolis 1987 which effectively launched his global domination. The Cuban won three consecutive Pan American Games titles winning title fights in 1991 and 1995.
His successes at the continental showpiece set the stage for his achievements at the Olympic Games where he won gold medals for Cuba in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, and Sydney 2000 in the heavyweight class. He is one of only three Olympic boxers to have won three gold medals along with compatriot Teofilo Stevenson and Hungary’s Laszló Papp.