The 1951 Pan American Games (the I Pan American Games) were held in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

between February 25 and March 9, 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the X Olympiad in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where officials representing the National Olympic Committees of the Americas discussed the staging of an Olympic-style regional athletic competition for the athletes of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. During the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

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in 1937, a limited sports program was staged. These included

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

, and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

among others. This program was considered a success and a meeting of Olympic officials from the Americas was held. At the Pan American Sports Conference held in 1940, it was decided to hold the 1st Pan American Games at

, in 1942. The Pan American Sports Committee was formed to govern the games.

Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...

was elected as the first President. However, the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

brought much of the Americas into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, thus forcing the cancellation of the 1942 games. A second conference was held in 1948. Avery Brundage was re-elected as the President of the PASC. It was decided that

would still host the 1st Pan American Games, this time in 1951.

Venues

River Plate Stadium Estadio Monumental (), officially Estadio Mâs Monumental for sponsorship reasons,Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

* Luna Park Stadium -

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

* Racing Club Stadium - Football *

Club Universitario de Buenos Aires Club Universitario de Buenos Aires, commonly known for its acronym CUBA, is an Argentine sports club with headquarters in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. Universitario hosts the practise of a large variety of sports and activities, includin ...

Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

Waterpolo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

* Pista Nacional de Remo, Tigre -

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

* Velódromo Municipal -

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

Campo de Mayo Campo de Mayo is a military base located in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, northwest of Buenos Aires. Campo de Mayo covers an area of and is one of the most important military bases in Argentina, including Argentine Army's: * General Lemos Co ...

- Pan American Village

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place at the Racing Club Stadium, which had been recently inaugurated. The Greek athlete

Aristeidis Roubanis Aristeidis Savvas Roubanis (alternate spelling: Aristidis) ( el, Αριστείδης Ρουμπάνης, 9 March 1932, Tripoli – 13 January 2018, Greece) was a Greek international basketball player and javelin thrower. During his club basket ...

lit the pebble for the first time, while local athlete

Delfo Cabrera Delfo Cabrera Gómez (April 2, 1919 – August 2, 1981) was an Argentine athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history. Biography Born in Armstrong, Santa Fe Pr ...

was the bearer of the Argentine flag.70 años de los Juegos Panamericanos 1951: el gran hito del deporte argentino
on Radiográfica, 16 Mar 2021 The inauguration event was attended by the Argentine President Juan Perón and the member of the Pan-American Games Commission,

Medal count

Sports

References

External links

1951 Pan American Game
on PanamSports.org {{Events at the 1951 Pan American Games