(Toronto) One hundred and three Quebec athletes will be part of the Canadian delegation which will participate in the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, from October 20 to November 5.
In total, 473 athletes will represent the maple leaf in South America, which means that 21.8% of the delegation comes from Quebec. They will be joined by 235 coaches and support staff from national organizations.
The Canadian delegation will include 15 Olympic medalists, including Olympic weightlifting champion Maude Charron of Rimouski.
The delegation will be led by chef de mission, Christine Girard, who became the first Olympic gold medalist in the country’s history in weightlifting after her third place in 2012 turned into victory six years later. The two athletes who beat her in the 63 kg category were sanctioned for sports doping.
Girard, who is originally from Rouyn-Noranda, took part in the Pan American Games three times with Canada. She notably won gold in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011.
“Since I was named chef de mission earlier this year, my level of excitement has continued to increase each time a new team was announced and new names were added to the Team Canada roster.” , Girard said in a press release Thursday.
“The approximately 500 athletes all have their own story to tell and have their own goals, and at the same time they are all united by sport and all the values that are dear to us, that we share and that define us,” continued the Quebecer now aged 38.
The Pan American Games will feature 423 medal events across 39 sports and 61 disciplines. This will be the first time that the Pan American Games will be held in Chile. More than 6,000 athletes from 41 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean will compete for the occasion.
The Pan American Games will serve as Olympic qualifying events in 21 of the 39 disciplines on the program, leading up to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Canada finished third in the medal table at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, with a haul of 152 medals, including 35 gold. The United States topped the table, ahead of Brazil.