Pan American Games in Lima: A Continental Meeting of Sporting Excellence
The Peruvian capital Lima will host the Pan American and Parapan American Games Lima 2019 to be held from July 26 to August 11. Approximately 6,700 athletes will participate in this competition in 39 sports and 61 disciplines.
The Pan American Games are held every four years and are the most important competition of the American continent, with the participation of 42 countries such as USA, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Belize, Aruba, among many others.
This is the first time that the Peruvian capital hosts this event, which will be held in 14 districts and different venues such as the National Sports Village or VIDENA, the Sports Complex of the district of Villa Maria del Triunfo, the National Sports Village of the District of Callao, the Sports Complex of the district of Villa el Salvador, among others.
Organization
The body responsible for planning the Pan American Games is the Pan American Sports Organization, known as PASO, which is governed by the statutes of the Olympic Charter. PASO brings together the Olympic Committees of the entire American continent and is responsible for the selection of new venues every four years.
History
The Argentine capital Buenos Aires was the first venue of the Pan American Games in 1951. In that first edition, 18 sports were disputed in 18 different disciplines and 2513 athletes from 21 countries participated.
Unlike other sports competitions worldwide, the Pan American Games allow the participation of nations that do not have official recognition, as happened in 2011 with the Netherlands Antilles, which had been dissolved as a nation the previous year, 2010. The participation of the Netherlands Antilles was made using the PASO flag.
The Para Pan American Games allow the participation of people with mobility impairments and takes place immediately after the Pan American Games.
The first edition of the Para Pan American Games was held in 1999 in Mexico with the participation of 1000 athletes from 18 countries in four disciplines: wheelchair basketball, Para athletics, Para swimming and Para table tennis. This year, approximately 1890 athletes from 33 different countries are expected to participate in 17 sports and 18 disciplines.
While the competitions are being held from July 26 to August 11, most of the athletes, as well as their coaches and sports delegations, are staying at the Pan American Village. This complex serves as a place to stay as it has rooms, health clinics, cafeterias and even places for religious purposes.
This allows for the comfort of the athletes during the competition and allows them to focus on their respective sporting objectives.
Below is a list of all the countries participating in the Lima 2019 Pan American Olympic Games as well as their acronyms or competition codes:
The following are the sports registered in the Olympic calendar:
The country that has historically won the most medals in this American competition is the United States.
The ultimate goal of the Pan American Games as well as the Para Pan American Games is to facilitate the integration of the different countries and cultures present in the American continent through sports.
