Sunday, November 5th, 2023.- As is usual in this continental competition, the United States finished as the big winner in the medal table of the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, totaling 286 medals, including 124 gold, 75 silver, and 87 bronze.

While the North American country had no major issues in asserting their dominance, their closest pursuer, Brazil, ended with 80 fewer medals. Nevertheless, their performance was slightly below what they achieved in the previous Pan American Games, as they amassed 293 medals in Lima, including 120 gold.

The sports that contributed the most gold medals to the United States were swimming with 19 medals, followed by athletics and fencing with eight each, along with wrestling and artistic gymnastics, which each yielded seven gold medals. A bit further behind, with five gold medals each, were water skiing, rowing, shooting, and archery.

Out of the 60 sports/disciplines contested at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, the United States failed to win gold in only 19, highlighting their complete sporting dominance on the continent. Curiously, several of the specialties in which they didn't win gold are typically strong for them, and they likely didn't have teams or representatives of the required level. Examples include basketball, baseball, tennis, or field hockey.

Among the standout figures who contributed the most medals for the United States was Regina Jacques, who won three gold medals in water skiing by claiming victory in jump, overall, and slalom. Her achievement is notable because all three of her wins were individual, without team awards.

With four gold medals, swimmer Jacob Foster was the American athlete who stood atop the podium the most, winning individual titles in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke, as well as the men's and mixed 4x100 relays.

Another notable swimmer, Paigen Madden, contributed with three gold medals for the United States, winning the 400 and 800 freestyle races, along with the 4x200 relay.

Since the Pan American Games began, the United States has won every edition except the inaugural 1951 edition (won by Argentina) and 1991 (Cuba). In both instances, the United States finished in second place.


Written by Marcelo López; translated by Andrés Castro / Photosport.
Photo by Javier Vergara / Santiago 2023 / Photosport