Santiago 2023: From 1951 until today - a brief history of the Pan American Games
The 2023 Pan American Games are set to be bigger and better than ever, but first, a look back at the history of the continental multi-sport games between the best athletes of the Americas
The Pan American Games are a continental multi-sport event in the Americas held every four years ahead of the Olympic Games. They are the third largest multi-sport competition in the world, only behind the Olympics and Asian Games.
Between the Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games, Santiago 2023 will host over 8,000 athletes from 41 nations, who will compete in events across 56 sports. It is the 19th edition of the Games and the first to ever be hosted in Chile.
Over the course of 17 days, the Games expect to draw over 200 million television spectators and over one million people attending the venues to watch live in Santiago.
From the idea of a continental games for the Americas being pitched at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932 to the 19th edition almost upon us, the Pan American Games have come a long way to the worldwide spectacle that they are today.
The History of the Pan American Games
It was 91 years ago that the idea was pitched: a multi-sport, continental games for the countries that make up North, Central and South American and the Caribbean.
19 years later, in 1951, the inaugural Pan American Games were hosted by the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Just 18 sports were played by 2,513 athletes from 21 countries. Argentina topped the medal chart, followed by the United States and then Chile.
The Games quickly grew as the next following editions in San Juan, Caracas, Indianapolis and Havana saw a steady increase in the number of participating countries and athletes, with new sports added as well.
In 1999, the first Para Pan Am Games were held in Mexico City. Santiago 2023 will mark the seventh edition.
Lima 2019 saw the most athletes, sports and events of any Pan American Games in history, but Santiago 2023 is set to top them all.
Ahead of the 19th edition, the United States tops the overall medal count, followed by Cuba and Canada.
Opening Ceremony for the XVI Pan American Games at Omnilife Stadium on October 14, 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico
Notable Athletes at the Pan American Games
Legendary athletes including Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis, Teófilo Stevenson and Elaine Thompson-Herah have competed at the Pan American Games.
Combined, these four athletes hold six Pan Am and 19 Olympic gold medals.
Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time world champion, took the gold for Team USA in the long jump and 4 x 100m relay at the 1987 Pan Ams in Indianapolis. He also won long jump bronze in the 1979 San Juan Games, before he had ever won an Olympic medal. He will attend Santiago 2023 as the Pan Am Sports Guest of Honor.
Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the best basketball player of all time, made his Games debut before he had even been drafted into the NBA. In 1983 he helped lead Team USA to their third consecutive Pan Am title in Caracas.
(L-R) Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, and Clyde Drexler of the USA celebrate after winning the gold medal during the Barcelona Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Reigning Pan Am and Olympic champion in the women’s 100m, Elaine Thompson-Herah won the 100m Pan Am title four years ago in Lima. Initially, she was set to race the 200m, where she is also the back-to-back reigning Olympic champion, but switched gears last minute to win it all.
Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson made his Pan American debut over 50 years ago at the 1971 Cali Games, where he took the heavyweight bronze before returning to take the gold medal at the next two consecutive games. Stevenson was undefeated at the Olympics from 1972-1980 and is still just one of three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals.
This year, some notable athletes set to compete are artistic gymnasts Jordan Chiles (USA) and Rebeca Andrade (BRA), as well as skateboarding superstar Rayssa Leal (BRA), BMX’s Daniel Dhers (VEN), wrestler Mijaín López Núñez (CUB) and diver Alejandra Orozco (MEX).
Rebeca Andrade of Team Brazil competes on Floor Exercise during the Women's All Around Final at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at Antwerp, Belgium.
What’s new in Santiago?
Santiago 2023 will represent the first time Chile has hosted the Pan American Games, which will be the largest multi-sport event to ever be held in the country.
The venues encompass Chilean history and culture with the heart of the games being at the Parque Deportivo Estadio Nacional – the stadium that hosted the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
Skateboarding, breaking, sport climbing are all making their Pan American Games debut, but bodybuilding was dropped from the list after just a single appearance at the Games.
Synchronized trampoline, 1,000m sprint in roller speed skating and the mixed eight event in rowing will all be added as well.
The Opening Ceremony will be held on 20 October at the Parque Deportivo Estadio Nacional and Sebastian Yatra, a Colombian musician and two-time Latin Grammy Award winner will headline the event.
