The 2021 Junior Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos Junior 2021'') were the first edition of the
Junior Pan American Games, an international
multi-sports event for athletes aged 17 to 22 in the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
, organized by
Panam Sports
Panam Sports, officially the Pan American Sports Organization (), is an international organization which represents the current 41 National Olympic Committees of the American continents.
It is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee ...
. It was held in
Cali
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
and
Valle,
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
between November 25 to December 5, 2021.
Candidate cities
The deadline for the presentation of candidacy to organize the first Junior Pan American Games was January 31, 2019, on which date
Cali
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
,
Santa Ana, and
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
were selected as host city candidates by Panam Sports.
Cali was chosen as the host city by the Executive Committee in
San José, Costa Rica
San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...
on March 27, 2019.
Cali, Colombia
Colombian Olympic Committee President Baltazar Medina noted that the reason
Cali
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
applied to host the games was to open the possibility of Colombia hosting larger multi-sports events, such as the
Bolivarian Games and the
Central American and Caribbean Games
The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...
.
Cali would be the main city for the games, while
Palmira,
Buga, and
Calima El Darién would act as sub-centers. Notably, 2021 will be the 50th anniversary of the
1971 Pan American Games, which is the last time that Cali hosted the Pan American Games.
Santa Ana, El Salvador
On January 29, 2019, Mayoress
Milena Calderón Sol de Escalón confirmed that
Santa Ana would apply to be the host of the inaugural games, stating, "We are preparing all the presentations we have to do before the International Olympic Committee. It will be in Costa Rica where El Salvador, through Santa Ana, will be presented (to host the 2021 Junior Pan American Games)."
Monterrey, Mexico
President of the
Mexican Olympic Committee Carlos Padilla Becerra expressed interest in
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
hosting the inaugural Junior Games, stating, "Mexico hopes that the competition can take place in Monterrey in 2021; it is a city that has the adequate infrastructure to carry them out, and it a minimum expenditure would be necessary." However, there was a risk from lack of government support that caused the bid to be eliminated from the final vote.
Venues
Cali and six other locales (
Buga,
Yumbo,
Jamundí
Jamundí is a town and municipality in the Departments of Colombia, Department of Valle del Cauca Department, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
Jamundí is located south of Cali (the capital of the department) in the west riverside of the Cauca River ...
,
Calima El Darien,
Palmira and
Barranquilla
Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...
) in Colombia will stage the competitions.

Cali
Buga
Barranquilla
Jamundí
Calima El Darien
Palmira
Yumbo
The Games
Sports
321 events in 28 sports were contested. The full sport program was confirmed in September 2020. After originally being included,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
(5x5),
BMX freestyle and
field hockey
Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
were not included on the final list. Other Olympic events and disciplines not contested included open water swimming, water polo, canoe slalom, equestrian, football and rugby sevens.
''Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events to be contested in each sport/discipline.''
*
Aquatics
Aquatics may refer to:
*Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming
*Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...
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*Baseball
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Canoe sprint
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...
(12)
*
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BMX racing
BMX racing is a type of bicycle racing which features BMX riders sharing a short single-lap circuit or point-to-point course, with multiple banked corners, jumps and rollers. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing, and sanctione ...
(2)
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Mountain biking
Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
(2)
**
Road
A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved.
Th ...
(4)
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Track (12)
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Artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...
(14)
**
Rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...
(8)
**
Trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes.
The fabric that use ...
(4)
*
*
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Roller sports
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Artistic skating (2) ''( details)''
**
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...
(2) ''( details)''
**
Speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
(12) ''( details)''
*
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Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
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**
*
*
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Freestyle (12)
**
Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...
(6)
Participating National Olympic Committees
All 41 nations who are members of the
Panam Sports
Panam Sports, officially the Pan American Sports Organization (), is an international organization which represents the current 41 National Olympic Committees of the American continents.
It is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee ...
were expected to compete. The numbers in parentheses represents the number of athletes qualified.
Schedule
Medal table
The official medal table:
Medal table
/ref>
References
External links
Cali-Valle 2021 website
Cali-Valle 2021 Facebook website
{{PASO
Junior Pan American
Pan American Games
Multi-sport events in Colombia
Junior Pan American Games
International sports competitions hosted by Colombia
Junior Pan American Games
Junior Pan American Games
Sport in Cali
Junior Pan American Games
Junior Pan American Games