Winter Pan American Games

The Winter Pan American Games are a winter sports edition of the Pan American Games, that has been sporadically proposed. It has been held once.

History

The Pan American Sports Organization originally conceived of a Winter Pan American Games after the first Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires in 1951, but the idea was abandoned due to a lack of interest from member nations. The idea was revived after the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. At a meeting in Mar Del Plata, Argentina between the PASO nations and participants from the 1988 Winter Olympics, it was determined that the first Winter Pan American Games should take place in Las Leñas, Argentina in 1989 and be held every four years thereafter.

The inaugural Games were not held in 1989 because of climate conditions and were postponed until the next year. The 1990 Winter Pan American Games were held from September 16 to 22, with 97 athletes from eight nations participating: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and United States. Only Canada and the United States won medals.

The second Winter Pan American Games were to take place in Santiago, Chile in 1993, but due to scheduling problems, the United States Olympic Committee declined to participate, and PASO decided to cancel the Games.

Locations

Year Games Host City Country Date Athletes Nations Sports Most gold medals
1990 I Las Leñas  Argentina September 16 - September 22 97 8 1  United States
1993 not held Santiago  Chile cancelled N/A N/A N/A N/A

Medals table

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 42511
2 Canada 2417

See also