Pan American Games
The Pan American Games are a multi-sport event, held every four years between competitors from all nations of the Americas.
History
The idea of holding a Pan American Games grew from the Central American Games first organised in the 1920s. In 1932, a first proposal was made for Pan American Games, and the Pan American Sports Organization was established. The first Games were scheduled to be staged in Buenos Aires in 1942, but World War II caused them to be postponed until 1951. Since then, the Games have been held every four years, with partipication at the most recent event at over 5000 athletes from 42 countries.
There have been attempts to hold Pan American Winter Games as well, but these have been without much success. The planned 1989 edition had to be postponed until a year later due to bad weather conditions, and even then only the alpine events could be held. The edition for 1993 was cancelled completely, and the Pan American Winter Games have not been held since.
Games
- 1951 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 1955 - Mexico City, Mexico
- 1959 - Chicago, Illinois, United States
- 1963 - São Paulo, Brazil
- 1967 - Winnipeg, Canada
- 1971 - Cali, Colombia
- 1975 - Mexico City, Mexico
- 1979 - San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States (Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory)
- 1983 - Caracas, Venezuela
- 1987 - Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- 1991 - Havana, Cuba
- 1995 - Mar del Plata, Argentina
- 1999 - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- 2003 - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- 2007 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The dates for the 2007 Pan American Games have been tentatively set for July 13 to July 29.