THE BEST PANAM GAMES GUIDE EVER PART TWO
@TeamUSA looks to lock down @Paris2024 spots in Santiago, Chile at PanAm Games 2023
THE COUNTDOWN
284 Days to Go until Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony
3 Days to Go until first event takes place at the Pan Am Games
USA TAKES 🥇AT BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLDS
Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes won 🥇at Beach Volleyball Worlds Sunday. Cheng/Hughes beat the 2022 World Champs from Brazil Ana Patricia and Duda in the finals in straight sets after coming back in the semifinals on Saturday and defeating fellow Americans Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss in 3 sets. Kloth/Nuss won 🥉 match on Sunday as Team USA came away with two medals and Theo Brunner/Trevor Crabb just missed a medal finishing 4th on the men’s side. It was 3rd 4th place at Worlds for Theo Brunner since 2015 as Brunner/Trevor Crabb moved into the 2nd qualification spot for US men as they look to qualify for their first Olympics.
Cheng/Hughes became only the 3rd US Women’s VB team to ever win Golds at Worlds joining April Ross/Jennifer Kessy and Kerri Walsh Jennings/Misty May-Treanor.
The win by Cheng/Hughes officially qualified the first spot for Team USA in Beach Volleyball for Paris. It looks like Cheng/Hughes and Kloth/Nuss (both teams are former NCAA Beach VB teams at USC and LSU) will represent Team USA in Paris next year and be medal contenders. Latest qualification numbers here for Team USA for Paris 2024 before the PanAm Games where Team USA will look to add 100 plus spots for Paris
ICYMI: Part One: Team USA Team Sport Preview
Reminder watch the PanAm Games action here PanAm Sports Channel
Below links will take you to the PanAm Results and Schedule page for that sport or to the USA Roster release on the Pan American rosters
Any questions on the PanAm Games- feel free to send me a comment-
There will be a Part 3 of the PanAm Guides coming out on the non-Olympic sports and future Olympic sports featured at the PanAm Games will be out tomorrow.
PANAM INDIVIDUAL SPORTS PREVIEW
PANAM PUNCH-OUT: GOLD MEDAL BOUT FOR A TICKET TO PARIS
USA Boxing has the chance to qualify for the most events for the Paris at PanAm Games (13 events). USA Boxing brings a pretty stacked men’s team with 2021 Worlds Gold medalists Jahmal Harvey and Robby Gonzales plus 2021 Worlds Silver medalists Roscoe Hill and Omari Jones. The USA Boxing team brings team brings Tokyo Olympian Naomi Graham and welterweight Morelle McCane who has won two international medals in 2023. Note 57KG (Alyssa Mendoza) and 60KG (Jajaria Gonzalez) can claim a Paris spot with a semifinal berth (bronze medal) but all other 11 weight classes need at least a silver medal to qualify for Paris Olympics. Thought Spots are qualified for Team USA 10 of 13 USA boxers at the PanAm games could petition USA Boxing for direct entry on Team USA for Paris and USA Boxing to cancel the Olympic trials because of their international success in their weight classes in 2023.
Roster/When to Watch: Boxing (Oct 19 to Oct 27)
CLIMBING TO PARIS: MEDAL FAVORITES IN MULTIPLE EVENTS
Sport Climbing will send 12 USA Athletes (3 in each competition) to try capture Gold in the Sport Climbing Combined (Boulder and Lead) and Sport Climbing Speed competition. Sport Climbing Speed is a new event for Paris 2024 (delight for 1990s X Games fan out there) having been dropped from the combined event like it was featured in Tokyo.
These athletes will qualify by name if they make the team so note if Emma Hunt wins the speed climbing gold medal at Pan Am Games -Hunt cannot qualify again since she already qualified for Paris with a silver medal at Worlds.
Team USA should be gold medal favorites in Boulder & Lead and could pick up a spot in men’s speed sport climbing. The big question might be what Team USA member gets gold. Tokyo Olympian and 2023 Worlds Bouldering Bronze Medalist Brooke Rabotou finished one spot out of Paris 2024 qualification at Worlds in combined event and she will be trying to lock her in spot. Teammate 2021 Bouldering World Champ Natalia Grossman might also be in contention. The US men will bring World Cup veterans Sean Bailey and Jesse Grupper who could also win gold on the men’s side. On the speed side, Noah Bratschi and John Brosler could lock in the first men’s speed climbing spot for Team USA at the Olympics.
When to Watch: Sport Climbing (Oct 21-Oct 24)
RIGHT MARK: USA SHOOTING AIMS TO QUALIFY MORE PARIS SPOTS
12 shooting events at PanAm Games will have Paris 2024 qualification (3 mixed shooting events do not have their own qualification). Team USA has already qualified 2 athletes (max amount) in 5 events so for Team USA and their Paris 2024 qualification comes down to these 7 shooting events. Here is a detailed breakdown of what USA Shooting needs to do lock down spots.
Men’s 10M Air Rifle (1 spot) - Team USA needs 1 more spot and 1 spot is being offered. If they do qualify this spot USA Shooting will gain an additional team in Mixed Air Rifle Team event at Olympics.
Men’s Air Pistol (1 spot)- Team USA still needs to qualify 2 spots in Men’s Air Pistol but the top spot here will qualify a spot. Note Brazil’s Philipe Chateaubrian is not eligible for qualification having already qualified a spot.
Women’s Air Pistol (1 spot)- Team USA needs 1 more spot and 1 spot being offered.
Men’s 50M Rifle 3 positions (1 spot) Team USA needs 1 more spot and 1 spot being offered.
Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol (2 spots)- Team USA needs 2 spots and 2 spots being offered. Cuba’s Leuris Pupo not eligible for qualification
Women’s 25m pistol (2 spots) - Team USA needs only 1 spot and 2 spots being offered.
Women’s Trap (2 spots) - Team USA needs only 1 spot and 2 spots being offered.
Team USA should dominate in Skeet Shooting where they have qualified all their spots. 3 time Olympic Gold medalist Vincent Hancock who is halfway to qualifying in Men’s Skeet Shooting is competing at PanAm Games for the first time since 2011 (Hancock won Gold at 2007 and 2011 PanAm Games)
When to Watch: Shooting: (Oct 21 to Oct 27)
Just a reminder- USA Shooting Trials for Paris 2024 have started. Latest Updates
SET SAIL: SAILING against North America
Paris 2024 Qualification for USA Sailing is focused on 5 events. USA Sailing will send their top boats in all 13 sailing events (PanAm Games features 4 non-Olympic events: MX Snipe, MX Lighting, and M&W Sunfish) as they will resend the athletes they sent to France for a test event in July.
For Team USA to qualify for Paris - Team USA sailing boat only needs to be best boat from North America and Caribbean to qualify which could be tricky in a lot of the sailing classes.
WINDSURFING:
Men's iQFOiL - Noah Lyons (Aruba beat USA at the 2023 Worlds in this sailing class )
Women's iQFOiL - Dominique Stater (Stater will be competing with Mexico and Canada who bring windsurfers who competed at Worlds)
Men’s Kite- Markus Edegran (Edegran should be a medal favorite based on Worlds but Dominican Republic and Canada bring kiteboarders who competed at Worlds)
MX Multihull - Nacra 17 - Sarah Newberry Moore & David Liebenberg (should be favored to get North American spot- Argentina should be gold medal favorite in this class)
*Men’s Dinghy (ILCA7, Laser) - Chapman Peterson-(Peterson and Team USA finished 5th among North American nations behind Saint Lucia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Bermuda in this class)
*Chapman Peterson- will only need to be Top 2 in North America and Caribbean to qualify. Complication in this qualification is that ILCA Worlds 2024 will take precedent too so the 7 qualification spots at ILCA Worlds 2024 take precedent over PanAm Games so Peterson could finish 3rd out of North America/Caribbean boats and still end up qualifying for Paris when all the qualification is finished if Saint Lucia Luc Chevrier (Tokyo Olympian) win PanAm Games gold but qualifies via ILCA Worlds 2024 Top 7 finish.
Roster/When to Watch:
DIVING: IT IS ALL ABOUT THE 10M PLATFORM DIVE
The US men have yet to qualify a spot in men’s 10M platform just twelve years after David Boudia won gold in London. Max Flory who just missed a qualification spot at Worlds might be Team USA’s best hope to win gold in 10M but it will be a close competition for both the US men and women to win gold at PanAm Games and secure a spot for Paris. On the women’s side- Mexico has qualified both 10M diving spots so a bronze medal could qualify Team USA for Paris if Mexico takes gold and silver.
Diving will include the 1M springboard like it does at Worlds and Tokyo Olympian Hailey Hernandez who finished 5th at Worlds should be a gold medal threat in 3M springboard.
Diving- (Oct 20 - Oct 25)
BREAKING: Can Team USA qualify the first US woman break dancer to Olympics?
Team USA can only qualify a spot for Paris if Vicki Chang and Sunny Choi wins women’s breaking event… Men’s breaking is not eligible for spot due to Victor Montalvo winning Gold at 2023 Worlds and automatically qualifying himself for Paris.
Breaking - (Nov. 3- Nov. 4)
MODERN PENTATHLON: CONCACAF Qualification of the Olympics
Team USA will try to qualify in the 2 events of Modern Pentathlon at the PanAm Games. They can only qualify one athlete per gender and the Team USA athlete needs to finish #1 overall or the Top 2 out of the athletes from NORCECA countries. The NORCECA countries it is CONCACAF for soccer fans (North America, Central America, Caribbean) are Team USA’s main competition. There are other ways for Team USA to qualify in Modern Pentathlon but this is usually the best opportunity for Team USA who has not won a medal in Modern Pentathlon at the Olympics since 2000. Hopefully Team USA improves when they add the obstacle course (replacing equestrian) at LA28.
Men’s team is led by Brendan Anderson and Women’s team is led by Jessica Davis who have been Team USA’s top finishers at Worlds the last couple of years. There are additional events of the Modern Pentathlon at the PanAmGames like Team (formerly an Olympic event discontinued in 1992) and Mixed Relay that will happen after the individual events.
Modern Pentathlon (Oct 21- Oct 23) Individual Competition - Ranking Round, SFS, Finals (Oct 25- Oct 27) Team and Mixed Relay rounds - no Olympic Qualification
TRAMPOLINE: BREAK GLASS QUALIFICATION
Even though this is the first Olympic Qualification to take place for Trampoline… it is the last possible way for Team USA to get into Paris 2024. Confusing? You came to the right place to unpack that statement.
Trampoline qualification is weighted by event so Event #1 is the World Championships 2023 (Nov 9-Nov 12) where a Top 8 finish (1 per NOC) will qualify Team USA for a spot in Paris. Event #2 is the ongoing 2023-2024 Trampoline World Cup Series where Team USA could qualify a second athlete (if in Top 3) or their first athlete. If Team USA does not qualify an athlete in either of these 12 spots given out by World Championships/World Cup Series - they can qualify 1 athlete spot via the PanAm Games. Team USA brings a strong team in women’s trampoline with two time Olympian Nicole Ahsinger who finished 6th in Tokyo and Jessica Stevens who finished 6th at 2022 Worlds. Men’s trampoline features 2020 Olympian and 9th at 2022 Worlds Aliaksei Shostak along with 2022 Worlds Double Mini Trampoline gold medalist Ruben Padilla.
Tumbling and Double Mini Trampoline events where Team USA has won Gold recently at the World Games or World Championships are not on the PanAm Games program. Synchronized Trampoline is part on the PanAm Games program.
*TENNIS: THE LIKELY NOT USED PANAM DIRECT QUALIFIER
Team USA will likely qualify all their spots by rankings (Top 56* in singles and Top 10 in doubles). If Team USA does not have four players take those spots - an American player will qualify directly (by name) if they finish Top 2 at Pan Am Games.
It is a longshot way to make the Olympics and has never really come into play when deciding Team USA Tennis at the Olympics. Team USA would currently need 7 out of 10 top US male players to decide not to accept direct acceptance to Paris 2024 for this qualifier to have a chance (even harder on the women’s side where there are 14 women in the Top 80)
Why this could be a factor this Olympics -
1) For Tokyo Games- 6 US men declined direct entry including the Top 4 Americans at the time (Isner, Opelka, Fritz, Korda)
2) US men have struggled mightily on European clay (especially at the French Open) 3) The popular Washington DC tournament Mubadala Citi Open ATP/WTA 500 tournament is the same week as the Paris Olympics and Americans could enter that tournament with a weaker field given most of the top players will be playing at the Olympics
4) US Players will want to focus on Hard Court Season. 5 American men made hard court Grand Slam QFs in 2023 the last US man to make a clay court Grand Slam QF was Andre Agassi in 2003 when US Open SF Ben Shelton had not turned one yet.
The reason why it might not be a factor is a lot of top American men are still accepting the call for Team USA whether it is Davis Cup or Olympics. Frances Tiafoe (DC is Tiafoe’s hometown tournament) told NBC how excited he was for Paris. Tommy Paul, Mackie McDonald played Davis Cup in 2023 in Uzbekistan after the Australian Open (where Paul made SFS) - so if given the opportunity to go the Olympics - it is safe to assume Paul and McDonald would play tennis for Team USA in Paris for one week.
For that latter reason most Americans just outside the Top 100 like Maxime Cressy, Emilio Nava, Zach Svajda, Alex Michelsen, Michael Mmoh, Brandon Nakashima will spend the rest of the year chasing the USTA wildcard challenge to the Australian Open main draw and Challenger Tour title wins to move into ATP Top 80 and gain possible direct entry via ranking instead of joining Team USA in Santiago, Chile.
Team USA bring 4 players to Santiago - the highest ranked American playing in the PanAm Games is Tristan Boyer who just made an ATP Challenger finals in Chile in September. If Boyer could repeat that and make the finals at the PanAm Games- then Boyer would have an outside shot to go to Paris but likely would need 7 or 8 US men to decline their Olympic spots. Just in case you were wondering Caroline Dolehide won gold at 2019 PanAm Games but did not play at the Olympics since most of the top US women decided to play in Tokyo and likely will do the same in Paris where Team USA women have had great success at Roland Garros with 3 US women have been runner-ups since 2018 (Gauff 2022, Kenin 2020, Stephens 2018)
Tennis: (Oct 23- Oct 29)
THE STANDARD IS THE STANDARD
These sports will not have direct qualification to Paris offered at PanAm Games but times and ranking points will count towards Paris 2024
Swimming (Oct 21 to Oct 25) Some of the top Americans who didn’t make the World Championships team will head to PanAm Games. 5 Tokyo medalists (Jay Litherland, Brooks Curry, Paige Madden, Erica Sullivan, Catie DeLoof) will swim for Team USA. Team USA swimming star Carson Foster’s older brother Jake Foster will also swim in 100m and 200m breaststroke and has deferred medical school to try make the Paris Olympics . Keep an eye on Bob Bowman’s young Sun Devil swimmer from Wyoming Jonny Kulow (50 FR, 100FR, relays) and NCAA Champ Will Galant (800FR, 500FR) as possible young male swimmers who could go from PanAm Games to Paris. On the women’s side 19 year old All American from NC State Kennedy Noble should four or five events but will face an upward climb to make US Swim team since Noble competes in stacked events (100BK, 200BK, 200IM) with previous Olympians and World Championships medalists Regan Smith, Katherine Berkoff, Phoebe Bacon, Claire Curzan, Rhyan White, Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Torri Huske.
There will be an opportunity for all the swimmers (especially watch for this in breaststroke and long-distance freestyle races) to achieve an Olympic standard but no direct quotas since all US qualification will happen at US Swim Trials.
Badminton - (Oct. 21 to Oct. 25) Since Olympic ranking points count USA Badminton brings a stacked team with Tokyo Olympian lead by Top 10 player in the World Beiwen Zhang in Women’s Singles. Rio Olympian Howard Shu competes in men’s singles and in mixed doubles - Team USA brings the top American team Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai. Canada swept 4 of 5 Gold Medals in 2019 so USA will be looking to beat Canada
Track and Field (Oct 30. - Nov. 4) Will be on Olympic standard watch for different athletes. Beyond achieving the Olympic standard - Gold medal wins by some Americans in the field events such as javelin where Tokyo Olympian Curtis Thompson or US National Champ Maddie Harris compete could help Thompson and Harris qualify for Paris by World Rankings.
Matt Ludwig who took an 18 hour plus flight to compete in Tokyo in men’s pole vault as a last-minute alternate will compete for Team USA in men’s pole vault looking for the Olympic standard.
Marathon (Oct. 22) Only one marathon runner - Turner Wiley is doing the Men’s Marathon. No US Women will be participating in the Women’s marathon. Timing is less than ideal as it comes right between Chicago and New York Marathon where a lot of premier US marathon runners are already committed.
Race Walk (Oct. 29) - US will have 2 athletes in each race walk for the first time since 2007 Pan Am Games.
Taekwondo (Oct 21- Oct 24) PanAm games include non-Olympic sport Taekwondo Poomsae . USA Taekwondo will bring CJ Nickolas Worlds Silver Medalist (80KG) who looks to be a medal contender at the PanAm Games (and Paris) but not bring Tokyo gold medalist Anastasija Zolotic or 2022 Worlds gold medalist Makayla Greenwood
Cycling - BMX Racing (Oct. 21 - Oct 22) Team USA sends two athletes - Kamren Larsenn and Daleny Vaughn. BMX racing comes off 4 World Cup stops in Argentina where 3 different BMX racers medaled for Team USA including Cam Wood, Felicia Stancil, and Alise Willoughby.
Cycling- BMX Mountain Biking (Oct. 21) Only US Women qualified (US men did not qualify) Gwen Gibson will go for Gold and also ranking points for Team USA’s qualification for Paris 2024.
Track Cycling (Oct 24- Oct 27) Team USA brings most of their team from Worlds except Chloe Dygert, Lily Williams, and Jennifer Valente going with some of USA Cycling’s younger stars in Team Pursuit. Team USA did not send Team Sprint to Worlds to focus on PanAm Games and bring back Men’s Team Pursuit from Worlds.
Triathlon (Nov 2, Nov 4) Taylor Knibb and Rio Gold Medalist Gwen Jorgenson lead the US women. Matthew McElroy and Seth Rider lead the US men as points in the individual races could help Team USA qualify a 3rd spot for Paris.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
No Qualification Here for Team USA
Beach Volleyball (Oct 21 to Oct 27) Team USA - Hagen Smith/Logan Webber (Men’s Beach VB) and Corrine Quiggle/Sarah Murphy (Women’s Beach VB) will represent Team USA.
Skateboarding (Oct. 21 to Oct 22) Bryce Wettstein who finished 6th in Women’s Park at Tokyo leads Team USA who will put one skateboarder in each competition (Men’s Park, Women’s Park, Men’s Street, Women’s Street)
Weightlifting (Oct 21- Oct 24) Mary Theisen-Lappen - Worlds Silver Medalist will compete. Theisen-Lappen despite winning a medal at Worlds is currently on the outside looking in at a Tokyo spot and can not make up ground in Santiago.
Cycling - Road and Time Trial (Oct 22, Oct 29) - Kristen Faulkner who was hit by a car in training in late June and just got back to training in September will race the Time Trial and Road Race for USA Cycling. US Men did not qualify
CANOE/KAYAK (Oct 27 to Nov 4) Tokyo Olympians Evy Leibfarth and Zach “Bug” Lokken will be competing- both Leibfarth and Lokken won Gold at the 2019 PanAmGames. Jonas Ecker will celebrate his 21st birthday right before the start of the Canoe Sprint races and is Team USA’s best chance to medal in Canoe Sprint. (Tokyo gold medalist Nevin Harrison is not competing in Canoe Sprint)
Canoe Slalom (Oct 27 to Oct 29)/ Canoe Sprint (Nov 1 to Nov 4)
Open Water Swimming (Oct. 29) Roster includes Tokyo Olympian Ashley Twichell and the Gravely Brothers (Dylan and Brennan) who competed at 2023 Worlds
Fencing (Oct 30 to Nov 4) Team USA bring a stacked roster with Tokyo Gold Medalist Lee Kiefer and three time World Championship Medalist Nick Itkin. Note one thing for hard core fencing enthusiasts- there is a max of two individual fencers per nation at PanAm Games (down from 3 at Olympics)
Wrestling (Nov 1 to Nov 4) -Team USA is highlighted by bringing Rio gold medalists Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder back to South America
Golf (Nov 2 to Nov 5) USA Golf is sending 4 amateurs. In 2019 they sent an amateur golfer named Rose Zhang who won Gold in Mixed Team Golf which was dropped as an event for the 2023 PanAm Games. This year team brings together 17 year old Anna Davis who won the 2022 Augusta Women’s Amateur (over Zhang) and 32 year old amateur Stewart Hagestad
Cycling- BMX Freestyle (Nov. 5) World Champion Hannah Roberts will compete on the last day of competition and looks to be a gold medal favorite. Also competing Tokyo Olympians Nick Bruce and Payton Ridenour