One of three jewels in the multi-sport triple crown for a Canadian athlete is the Pan American Games.

Athletes who have already worn the Maple Leaf in Olympic and Commonwealth Games want to complete the set.

B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 done a Pan Am Games yet,B次元官网网址� said Olympic butterfly champion Maggie Mac Neil of London, Ont. B次元官网网址淛ust being in a Games atmosphere is so different than being at a world championship in a hotel with just swimmers.B次元官网网址�

The 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, officially start with FridayB次元官网网址檚 opening ceremonies, although preliminary competition was underway Thursday.

The Pan Am Games will mean different things to the 473 athletes on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team.

For some, itB次元官网网址檚 a chance to qualify either themselves or their country for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Of the 38 sports Canadians will contest in Santiago, 21 are Olympic qualifiers.

In sports such as boxing, breakdancing, sport climbing, surfing, and tennis, athletes can punch a direct ticket to Paris for themselves.

In others, athletes can qualify Canada in a sport for Paris and then chase that berth via trials or other avenues. CanadaB次元官网网址檚 field hockey and water polo teams will pursue the gold medals that can catapult them to Paris.

Canada finished third in total medals (152, including 35 gold) behind United States (293) and Brazil (169) in Lima, Peru, four years ago.

Santiago is a measurement of how far world champion boxer Tammara Thibeault of Shawinigan, Que., has come since Lima.

She won bronze in Lima and was eventually upgraded to silver because of an opponentB次元官网网址檚 doping violation.

B次元官网网址淟ast time at Pan Ams, I was definitely not at my best. I take full accountability for that,B次元官网网址� Thibeault said. B次元官网网址淭his time, IB次元官网网址檓 coming in way more prepared, way more focused. IB次元官网网址檓 a different boxer than I was four years ago.B次元官网网址�

The Pan Ams can be an athleteB次元官网网址檚 first taste of a multi-sport Games. With Paris on the horizon in just nine months, Santiago is a both a dress rehearsal and a proving ground for over 6,800 athletes from 41 American and Caribbean countries.

Santiago is a Pan Am host city for the first time. It was awarded both the 1975 and 1987 Pan Ams, but pulled out.

The sound of last-minute hammering and sawing was prevalent Thursday in the area around Estadio Nacional, which is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team includes 100 Olympians, including 15 medallists, as well as 106 athletes who previously won Pan Am medals.

Mac Neil, Olympic weightlifting champion Maude Charron of Rimouski, Que. and world champion hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., are among CanadaB次元官网网址檚 headliners.

Kristen Kit of St. Catharines, Ont., was the coxswain of the womenB次元官网网址檚 rowing eight that won gold in Tokyo. She makes her Pan Am debut in that race as well as the new mixed gender eight event.

Some high-profile Canadians B次元官网网址� sprinter Andre De Grasse, decathlete Damian Warner, swimmers Summer McIntosh and Kylie Masse and the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer team B次元官网网址� arenB次元官网网址檛 in Santiago.

In soccerB次元官网网址檚 case, Canadian players canB次元官网网址檛 leave their international clubs for the Pan Ams. And if Santiago doesnB次元官网网址檛 offer an Olympic qualification component, the Pan Ams arenB次元官网网址檛 a priority in a compressed prep time for Paris.

The COVID-19 pandemic that pushed TokyoB次元官网网址檚 Summer Olympics from 2020 to 2021 turned what was traditionally four years between Summer Olympic Games into three years.

In swimming, diving, artistic swimming and water polo, for example, FebruaryB次元官网网址檚 world aquatics championship in Doha, Qatar, will be the third world championship in as many years for what was previously a biennial event.

The competition glut contrasts starkly with the 2020-21 season that was devoid of events because of the pandemic.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely a lot, but itB次元官网网址檚 good to get back into that racing since we didnB次元官网网址檛 get to do it for a year and a half,B次元官网网址� Mac Neil said. B次元官网网址淵ou have to train to compete, but also part of competing is just racing over and over again so you can kind of see whatB次元官网网址檚 working and we lacked that a lot.

B次元官网网址淓specially being in Canada, leading into Tokyo, we didnB次元官网网址檛 really have any racing opportunities at all. I guess weB次元官网网址檙e just making up for lost time, but it definitely is insane how as opposed to just jumping back on track, weB次元官网网址檝e tried to slot in a lot of extra meets.B次元官网网址�

Mac Neil is among 17 international B次元官网网址渁thlete ambassadorsB次元官网网址� for Santiago alongside Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, Dominican sprinter Marileidy Paulino and BMX rider Daniel Dhers among others. Mac Neil is featured in a B次元官网网址淪port Lives In YouB次元官网网址� promotional video.

B次元官网网址淚 would love to add a Pan Am Games gold to my collection, but definitely not trying to put pressure on myself that way,B次元官网网址� Mac Neil said.

Breaking, sport climbing and skateboarding make their Pan Am debuts in Chile. The latter two were included in TokyoB次元官网网址檚 Olympic program, while breaking will be introduced in Paris.

VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Philip Kim, known as B-Boy Phil Wizard, won the menB次元官网网址檚 world breaking championship in 2022 and finished second this year.

The beach volleyball team of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson have been named CanadaB次元官网网址檚 flag-bearers for the Pan American Games opening ceremonies.

The Toronto athletes will usher CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team into the stadium tonight in Santiago, Chile.

Humana-Paredes, whose parents were born in Chile, and Wilkerson became a duo earlier this year. TheyB次元官网网址檙e ranked fifth in the world.

Both competed in TokyoB次元官网网址檚 Summer Olympics two years ago and reached the quarterfinals with different teammates.

Wilkerson will make her Pan Am debut in Santiago. Humana-Paredes competed in the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto with Taylor Pischke and finished fourth.

MenB次元官网网址檚 field hockey captain Scott Tupper was CanadaB次元官网网址檚 flag-bearer at the 2019 Pan Am Games opening ceremonies in Lima, Peru.

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