The Pan American Games is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. The only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. In 2021, there will be a Junior Pan American Games for young athletes. The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.
The 1979 Pan American Games, officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. The 1980 documentary film A Step Away showcased a number of athletes competing in the Games.
The 11th Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was the Estadio Panamericano, a multi-use stadium in Havana that holds 50,000 people.
The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Approximately 5,000 athletes from 42 nations participated at the games. The competition was marred by a total of seven positive drug tests.
The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America.
The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in 47 disciplines. During the Games, 95 new Pan American records were set; 2,196 medals were awarded; 1,262 doping control tests were performed and about 15,000 volunteers participated in the organization of the event, which was an Olympic qualification for 13 International Federations (IFs).
The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa. It was the largest multi-sport event of 2011, with approximately 6,000 athletes from 42 nations participating in 36 sports. Both the Pan American and Parapan American Games were organized by the Guadalajara 2011 Organizing Committee (COPAG). The 2011 Pan American Games were the third Pan American Games hosted by Mexico and the first held in the state of Jalisco. Previously, Mexico hosted the 1955 Pan American Games and the 1975 Pan American Games, both in Mexico City. The 2011 Parapan American Games were held 20 days after the Pan American Games have ended.
The Pan American Sports Organization is an international organization which represents the current 41 National Olympic Committees of North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The Pan American Badminton Championships is a tournament organized since 1977 by the Badminton Pan America (BPA) to crown the best badminton players in the Americas. The tournament was held every year from 1977 until 1980, then every two years from 1987 until 2007. It is now organized annually, except once every four years when the Pan American Games multi-sports event is held. Badminton is part of the Pan American Games since 1995. Since then, 2007 was the only year both events were held simultaneously in the same year. The Pan American Badminton Championships once had a Grand Prix status.
The 2015 Pan American Games, officially the XVII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, as governed by Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The games were held from July 10 to 26, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; preliminary rounds in certain events began on July 7, 2015. These were the third Pan American games hosted by Canada, and the first in the province of Ontario. The Games were held at venues in Toronto and seventeen other Golden Horseshoe communities. The Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games were organized by the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games (TO2015).
Since its first edition held in 1951, athletics events have been competed at the Pan American Games. The events list follows the Olympic model as the Games are an IOC sanctioned competition.
The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Games was the last Parapan American Games that was held not in the same city as the Pan American Games. The most recent games was the 5th Parapan American Games which took place in 2019 with the host city being Lima, Peru. The next Parapan American Games are scheduled between 17 and 26 November 2023, in Santiago, Chile.
The 2019 Pan American Games, officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, was held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminary rounds in certain events having begun on July 24, 2019.
Athletics competitions at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara was held from October 23 to October 30 at the newly built Telmex Athletics Stadium. The racewalking and marathon events were held on the temporary Guadalajara Circuit and Route and the Pan American Marathon circuit respectively. The sport of athletics is split into distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
The Pan American Games sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer Olympic Games. In addition, traditional and popular sports throughout the Americas which are not contested at the Olympic Games are also contested such as bowling and baseball. As of 2015, the Pan American Games included 36 sports with 51 disciplines and 364 events. The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Pan American Games to another.
The United States competed at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, from October 14 to October 30, 2011.
Argentina competed at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from July 10 to 26, 2015. On June 1, 2015, track cyclist and former Olympic gold medalist Walter Pérez was named as the country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony.
The Pan American Gymnastics Union organizes Pan American Gymnastics Championships in different disciplines of gymnastics: men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, as well as aerobic gymnastics. The Pan American Gymnastics Championships are considered by the International Gymnastics Federation to be the official continental championships for the Americas. The entity also recognizes the South American Gymnastics Championships as the official continental championships for South America. Pan American Championships have also been organized for the sport of aesthetic group gymnastics.
Athletics competitions at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru are scheduled to be held between July 27th and August 11th, 2019 at the Athletics Stadium in the Villa Deportiva Nacional Videna cluster, with the marathon and walks being held at Parque Kennedy.
