1979 Pan American Games

8th edition of the Pan American Games

VIII Pan American Games

Host| San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nations| 34
Athletes| 3,700
Events| 250 in 24 sports
Opening| July 1
Closing| July 15
Opened by| Governor Carlos Romero Barceló
Cauldron lighter| Cynthia Guadalupe
Main venue| Hiram Bithorn Stadium

<- 1975 Mexico City

1983 Caracas ->

The 1979 Pan American Games, officially the VIII Pan American Games (Spanish: VIII Juegos Panamericanos) and commonly known as San Juan 1979, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization (PASO), and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. Volleyball and some baseball matches were held in Caguas, Puerto Rico.[1][2] The 1980 documentary film A Step Away showcased a number of athletes competing in the Games.

## Bidding process

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Main article: Bids for the 1979 Pan American Games

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, Chile.[3][4][5]

## The Games

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### Sports

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* Archery (details)
* Athletics (details)
* Baseball (details)
* Basketball (details)
* Boxing (details)
* Cycling (details)
* Diving (details)
* Equestrian (details)
* Fencing (details)
* Field hockey (details)
* Football (details)
* Gymnastics (details)
* Judo (details)
* Roller sports (details)
* Rowing (details)
* Sailing (details)
* Shooting (details)
* Softball (details)
* Swimming (details)
* Synchronized swimming (details)
* Table tennis (details)
* Tennis (details)
* Volleyball (details)
* Weightlifting (details)
* Wrestling (details)

### Medal count

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For a more comprehensive list, see 1979 Pan American Games medal table.

Rank| Nation| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  United States| 126| 95| 45| 266
2|  Cuba| 64| 47| 34| 145
3|  Canada| 24| 43| 71| 138
4|  Argentina| 12| 7| 17| 36
5|  Brazil| 9| 13| 17| 39
Totals (5 entries)| 235| 205| 184| 624

Note

^ The medal count for Canada is disputed.

### Mascot

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Coqui, the first Pan American Games mascot

The 1979 Games were the first one to feature a mascot, which was a running frog holding a torch named Coqui.[6]

## References

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1. ^ Boswell, Thomas (July 11, 1979). "Cuba Nine In a Class By Itself". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
2. ^ Krastev, Todor. "Men Volleyball Panamerican Games 1979 Caguas (PUR) - 02-13.07 Winner Cuba". Todor66.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
3. ^ "Belle Époque: San Juan 1979". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). July 4, 2015. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
4. ^ "Los VIII Juegos Panamericanos de San Juan son un evento que no se olvida" [The VIII Pan-American Games of San Juan is an event that is not forgotten]. Primera Hora (in Spanish). June 30, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
5. ^ "Puerto Rico hará Panamericanos" [Puerto Rico has Panamerican]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile. Associated Press. June 1, 1973. p. 1-C. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
6. ^ "VIII Pan American Games - San Juan (Puerto Rico) 1979". Quadrodemedalhas.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2017.

## External links

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* San Juan 1979 - VIII Pan American Games - Official Report (Part 1) at PanamSports.org
* San Juan 1979 - VIII Pan American Games - Official Report (Part 2) at PanamSports.org

Preceded by

Mexico City

|  VIII Pan American Games
San Juan
(1979)  | Succeeded by

Caracas

|
|

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Pan American Games

* Sports
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Pan American Games|

* 1951 Buenos Aires
* 1955 Mexico City
* 1959 Chicago
* 1963 São Paulo
* 1967 Winnipeg
* 1971 Cali
* 1975 Mexico City
* 1979 San Juan
* 1983 Caracas
* 1987 Indianapolis
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* 2019 Lima
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* 2031 TBD

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* 1990 Las Leñas

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* Parapan American Games

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Events at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico

* Archery
* Athletics
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Boxing
* Cycling
* Diving
* Equestrian
* Fencing
* Field hockey
* Football
* Gymnastics
* Judo
* Roller sports
* Rowing
* Sailing
* Shooting
* Softball
* Swimming
* Synchronized swimming
* Table tennis
* Tennis
* Volleyball
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling

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