Sunday, November 5th, 2023.- Hannah Margaret McNair Mac Neil, known in the high-performance circuit as Maggie Mac Neil, more than lived up to her favorite status at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

She was the Olympic champion in the butterfly style at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in a memorable final of the first-ever Olympics held during a pandemic, with no audience and strict health safety measures. Her incredulous expression upon winning gold in almost complete silence was immortalized in images that went viral.

The 23-year-old athlete, born in the Chinese city of Jiujiang and adopted by a Canadian family, was one of the two swimmers who accumulated the most personal medals, with a total of seven. She was the athlete with the highest number of gold medals in the competition, securing five gold medals. It was a privilege to have her compete in these games.

From the moment she arrived, she gained the affection of the public. She is not only remembered at the Centro de Entrenamiento de Deportes Acuáticos, where she competed and graciously took selfies with attendees, but also in the surroundings of the Parque Estadio Nacional. Who can forget her excitement and joy upon seeing her portrait on a subway wall in Santiago, with a young girl next to it imitating her triumphant arm gesture?

Mac Neil became very popular, and the audience rewarded her with applause every time she received a medal.

She finished first in the 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m individual medley relay, and 50m freestyle events. Additionally, she stood on the podium to receive the silver medal in the mixed 4x100 individual medley relay and the bronze medal in the mixed 4x100 freestyle relay.

"Happy with my performances here in Santiago, excited to have seen some of this beautiful country before returning to school to train," Maggie wrote on the social media platform X as she left the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Before departing, she found the time to explore the hills of Valparaíso, a city located an hour from Santiago towards the coast, internationally known for its bay, ships, neighborhoods, and unique architecture. Farewell, Maggie, Santiago 2023 will miss you.

Written by Erwin Acevedo; translated by Andrés Castro / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Daniel Apuy / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport