By the Numbers: Team Canada heading into the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games
After 41 team announcements over the last few months, it is now official that Team Canada will be represented by 473 athletes at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
Here are few other fun facts and stats about Team Canada for the upcoming Pan Am Games that will officially begin on October 20 and run until November 5 in Santiago, Chile.
Once again, Team Canada will be composed of more women than men. The Canadian contingent will include 265 athletes who identify as women or compete in women’s events and 208 athletes who identify as men or compete in men’s events.
The team has a good mix of youth and major international competition experience. Among the athletes are 100 Olympians, including 15 Olympic medallists. There are a whopping 106 Pan Am Games medallists returning to the team. There are 322 athletes who will be making their Pan Am Games debuts.
Canadian swimmer Margaret Mac Neil wins a gold medal in the Women’s 100m Butterfly during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo by Darren Calabrese/COC 
Canadian weightlifter Maude Charron reacts after winning gold in the Women’s 64kg category during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo by Stephen Hosier/COC 
Evan Dunfee, of Canada, competes in the men’s 50km race walk at the 2020 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) 
Canada celebrates after winning the bronze medal in softball against Mexico during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo by Mark Blinch/COC
Shooting athlete Greg Sych has made the most Pan Am Games appearances, competing in five straight editions of the Games from 2003 to 2019 in various rifle events. Santiago 2023 will be his sixth Pan Am Games. There are a few Canadian athletes embarking on their fifth Pan Am Games, including archer Crispin Duenas, table tennis athlete Mo Zhang, and water skier Whitney McClintock Rini.
But the athlete with the Pan Am Games experience that dates the furthest back is equestrian Beth Underhill. With her incredible horse Monopoly, she won silver in both the team and individual jumping events at the 1991 Pan Am Games in Havana, Cuba. She also won team jumping bronze at the Winnipeg 1999 Pan Am Games.
Team Canada’s Crispin Duenas competes during the men’s individual archery 1/32 elimination round at Sombodromo Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: David Jackson/COC) 
Canada’s Mo Zhang competes during the table tennis women’s singles third round match against Germany’s Petrissa Solja at the 2020 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) 
LIMA, Peru – Whitney Mcclintock Rini of Team Canada competes in waterski women’s open tricks final at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Photo by Vincent Ethier 
Grzegorz Sych of Canada shoots during the men’s 50m Rifle 3P final at the Belmont Shooting Centre during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia. AP Photo/Tertius Pickard
At age 61, Underhill is also the oldest athlete on the team. Equestrian jumping teammate Mario Deslauriers is the oldest male athlete on Team Canada age age 58.
On the flip side, skateboarding phenom Fay De Fazio Ebert will be the youngest athlete on Team Canada at only 13 years old. She is among seven female athletes on the team who are under the age of 16. Fencer Nicholas Zhang is Canada’s youngest male athlete at 17 years old.
Canada’s Beth Underhill rides Monopoly in the equestrian event at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba. (CP Photo/COC/Tim O’lett) 
Canada’s Mario Deslauriers competes during the equestrian jumping individual qualifying at Equestrian Park in Tokyo at the 2020 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) 
Fay De Fazio Ebert trains at the skatepark. (Canada Skateboard/Dan Mathieu Photo)
Team Canada athletes come from all across the nation. Ontario is the most represented province, based on hometowns, with 162 athletes. There are 112 athletes from British Columbia and 103 from Quebec. Alberta is home to 45 athletes, followed by Nova Scotia with 13, Saskatchewan with 11, Manitoba with 7, Prince Edward Island with three, and New Brunswick with 2. There are 15 Team Canada athletes who hail from outside Canada.
“Since I was named Chef de Mission earlier this year, my excitement for these Games has only grown with every team announcement and name added to Team Canada’s roster for Santiago 2023,” says Christine Girard. “Each of these almost 500 athletes comes with their own story and objectives, united by sport and all the values that we hold dear, that we share and that define us. With the full team now named and just over a week to go until the Opening Ceremony, I’m counting down the days until I’m on the ground in Santiago alongside them to support and cheer them on! Be ready to live sports achievements that will become part of Canadian sport history!”
Team Canada will join approximately 7000 athletes from 40 other nations in Santiago. There are 423 medal events across 39 sports and 61 disciplines.
Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games Hub
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