The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

governed by the

Panam Sports The Panam Sports (Formerly Pan American Sports Organization; es, link=no, Organización Deportiva Panamericana; pt, link=no, Organizacão Depórtiva Panamericana; french: Organisation Sportive PanAméricaine) is an international organization whi ...

Organization, and were held in San Juan,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. The 1980 documentary film ''

A Step Away ''A Step Away'' is an Official Olympic Film, a documentary filmed during the VIIIth Pan American Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. It was produced and directed by Roberto Ponce and co-directed by Marcos Zurinaga ...

'' showcased a number of athletes competing in the Games.

Bidding process

On May 31, 1973, San Juan was the only candidate city to be a finalist to host the games and thus, San Juan was then selected to host the VIII Pan American Games by PASO at its general assembly in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile.

The Games

Sports

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Medal count

;Note The medal count for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

is disputed.

Mascot

The 1979 Games were the first one to feature a mascot, which was a running frog holding a torch named ''Coqui''.

References

External links

Memoria VIII Juegos Panamericanos
on PanamSports.org {{Events at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games 1979 Pan American Games, 1979 Multi-sport events in Puerto Rico

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Sports in San Juan, Puerto Rico Pan American Games

20th century in San Juan, Puerto Rico