| Athletics at the I Pan American Games | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Venue | River Plate Stadium |
| Date | 27 February – 6 March |
| Competitors | 243 from 15 nations |
1955» | |
The Athletics Competition at the 1951 Pan American Games was held in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. A total of 15 nations participated, with 243 athletes representing them in 33 athletics events.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 17 | 11 | 6 | 34 |
| 2 |  Argentina (ARG) | 7 | 8 | 12 | 27 |
| 3 |  Chile (CHI) | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 |  Cuba (CUB) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 |  Brazil (BRA) | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 6 |  Peru (PER) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 |  Colombia (COL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Ecuador (ECU) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 |  Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 |  Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 |  Guatemala (GUA) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 |  Panama (PAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (13 nations) | 33 | 33 | 33 | 99 | |
The practice of sports in Argentina is varied due to the population's diverse European origins and the mostly mild climate. Association football is the most popular discipline and other sports played both professionally and recreatively athletics, auto racing, basketball, boxing, cycling, field hockey, fishing, golf, handball, mountaineering, padel tennis, polo, roller hockey, rowing, rugby union, sailing, skiing, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Argentine achievements can be found in team sports such as association football, basketball, field hockey and rugby union, and individual sports such as boxing, golf, tennis and rowing. Pato, the national sport, is not very popular.
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