1951 Pan American Games

1st edition of the Pan American Games

I Pan American Games

Host| Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nations| 21
Athletes| 2,513
Events| 140 in 18 sports
Opening| February 25
Closing| March 9
Opened by| President Juan Perón
Main venue| Racing Club Stadium

1955 Mexico City ->

The 1951 Pan American Games, officially known as I Pan American Games (Spanish: I Juegos Panamericanos) and commonly known as Buenos Aires 1951, were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between February 25 and March 9, 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the X Olympiad in Los Angeles, United States, 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.[1]

During the Pan-American Exposition at Dallas, United States, in 1937, a limited sports program was staged. These included athletics, boxing and wrestling, 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 Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1942. The Pan American Sports Committee was formed to govern the games. Avery Brundage was elected as the first President. However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought much of the Americas into World War II, 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 Buenos Aires would still host the 1st Pan American Games, this time in 1951.

## Venues

[edit]

River Plate stadium (venue for athletics competitions) during the closing ceremony Venue  | Event / sport(s)  | Ref.

|
|

Avenida General Paz | Marathon (men's) | [2][3]
CUBA outdoor natatorium [n 1] | Diving
Swimming
Waterpolo | [5][4]
Dársena Sud | Rowing |
Luna Park Stadium | Basketball
Boxing | [6][4]
Club Pucará | Baseball | [7]
Racing Club Stadium | Opening ceremony
Football | [4][8][9]
River Plate Stadium | Athletics
Closure ceremony | [9][10]
Velódromo Municipal | Cycling | [6][11][12][4]

The Military College of Campo de Mayo was the Pan American village for men athletes, while several venues in Buenos Aires were used as women's villages. The Argentine athletes did not stay with the rest of competitors so they were hosted in Ezeiza and San Fernando.[4][7]

Notes

1. ^ The swimming pools had been expropriated by the government leaded by Juan Perón.[4]

## Opening ceremony

[edit]

The opening ceremony took place at the Racing Stadium, which had been recently inaugurated. The Greek athlete Aristeidis Roubanis lit the pebble for the first time, while local athlete Delfo Cabrera was the bearer of the Argentine flag.[13]

The inauguration event was attended by the Argentine President Juan Perón and the member of the Pan-American Games Commission, Avery Brundage.

## Medal count

[edit]

For a more comprehensive list, see 1951 Pan American Games medal table.

* Host nation (Argentina)

Rank| NOC| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  Argentina*| 63| 43| 36| 142
2|  United States| 46| 34| 21| 101
3|  Chile| 8| 19| 12| 39
4|  Cuba| 6| 7| 8| 21
5|  Brazil| 5| 15| 13| 33
6|  Mexico| 5| 7| 23| 35
7|  Peru| 2| 5| 7| 14
8|  Trinidad and Tobago| 1| 2| 0| 3
9|  Ecuador| 1| 0| 1| 2
10|  Colombia| 1| 0| 0| 1
Totals (10 entries)| 138| 132| 121| 391

## Sports

[edit]

* Athletics (details)
* Baseball (details)
* Basketball (details)
* Boxing (details)
* Cycling (details)
* Diving (details)
* Equestrian (details)
* Fencing (details)
* Football (details)
* Gymnastics (details)
* Modern pentathlon (details)
* Polo (details)
* Rowing (details)
* Sailing (details)
* Shooting (details)
* Swimming (details)
* Tennis (details)
* Water polo (details)
* Weightlifting (details)
* Wrestling (details)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Guadalajara 2011 XVI Pan American Games > Origin and Previous Editions". Archived from the original on 2011-02-22. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
2. ^ El día que la General Paz fue el escenario del maratón de 1951 on Clarín, 25 Mar 2025
3. ^ El historial argentino en el maratón de los Panamericanos on largamos.ar. 18 Oct 2023
4. ^ a b c d e f Buenos Aires 1951, primera parada on ESPN.com.ar. 16 Jun 2007
5. ^ Los primeros Juegos Panamericanos (1951) – video by Página/12, hosted on Dailymotion.com
6. ^ a b 70 años de los Juegos Panamericanos 1951: el gran hito del deporte argentino by Osvaldo Jara on RadioGráfica. 16 Mar 2021
7. ^ a b Primeros Juegos Deportivos Panamericanos (report)
8. ^ Los primeros Juegos Panamericanos on the CIHF, 21 Mar 2012
9. ^ a b Los Juegos Panamericanos 1951 by Iván Cardozo, Yessica García y Valentín Gerez on Deportea, 1 Jul 2024
10. ^ Panamericanos 51 on Amateur Deporte.com.ar
11. ^ CABA: Un ícono de los Juegos Panamericanos 1951 – La Legislatura autorizó la demolición del Velódromo de Palermo on elmundoamateur.com.ar. 13 Nov 2013
12. ^ Palermo cumple 60 años on CUBA.org.ar
13. ^ 70 años de los Juegos Panamericanos 1951: el gran hito del deporte argentino on Radiográfica, 16 Mar 2021

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1951 Pan American Games.

* Memoria (official report)
* 1st Pan American Games ("tomo 2")

Preceded by

|  I Pan American Games
Buenos Aires
(1951)  | Succeeded by

Mexico City

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Events at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina

* Athletics
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Boxing
* Cycling
* Diving
* Equestrian
* Fencing
* Football
* Gymnastics
* Modern pentathlon
* Polo
* Rowing
* Sailing
* Shooting
* Swimming
* Tennis
* Water polo
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling

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