Contested every four years, the Pan American Games historically draws the largest U.S. athlete delegation of any Games operation overseen by the USOC. By comparison, 537 U.S. athletes competed in Athens, Greece, during the 2004 Olympic Games, while 210 competed in Torino, Italy, at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

The Pan American Games will showcase all 31 Olympic sports, as well as five additional sports that are on the Pan American Games program: bowling, karate, roller sports, squash and water skiing. This year’s Pan American Games will also feature the sport of futsal, an indoor soccer variation.

With a little more than one year remaining until the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the Pan American Games will serve as a major test for U.S. athletes in gauging their preparedness for elite multi-sport competition. In all, 183 of the U.S. Pan American team members from 2003 went on to make the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. Among the 595 U.S. athletes on the 2007 Pan American Games Team, there are approximately 73 Olympians, with more than 20 of those winning medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Eight sports being contested in Rio have Olympic qualifying spots for grabs, including field hockey (m/w), judo, modern pentathlon, shooting, synchronized swimming, table tennis, triathlon and water polo (m/w). Sports in which the national team or top-ranked athletes will be competing for the U.S. include: archery, badminton, boxing, canoe/kayak (flatwater), cycling (mountain bike), diving, field hockey, women’s artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, softball, synchronized swimming, table tennis, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling.

Among the top U.S. athletes competing in Rio are swimmer Gary Hall Jr. (Miami Beach, Fla.), who is three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004) and 10-time Olympic medalist (5 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze); sailing’s Paul Forrester (Rockwall, Texas) a four-time Olympian (1988, 1992, 2000, 2004) and three-time Olympic medalist (1 gold, 2 silver); and modern pentathlon athlete Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.), a three-time Olympian who is attempting to become the first U.S. athlete ever to make a fourth Olympic team in three different sports. She was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team as a swimmer, where she won a gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay, and a member of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams as a triathlete.

Other notable U.S. athletes include John McNally (Heath, Texas), a rapid-fire pistol shooter who has competed in five Olympic Games and every Pan American Games since 1979 (seven total); archer Richard “Butch” Johnson (Webster, Mass.), a four-time Olympian, and trap shooter James “Todd” Graves (Laurel, Mass.), also a four-time Olympian.

Fifty-five-year-old shooting athlete Elizabeth “Libby” Callahan (Columbia, S.C.) gets the distinction as the oldest U.S. athlete entered into the Pan American Games and is one of five U.S. competitors over the age of 50. She is a three-time Olympian and four-time Pan American Games team member. Gymnast Rebecca Bross (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 13, is the youngest U.S. participant and will celebrate her 14th birthday on July 11. Her teammate Ivana Hong (Laguna Hills, Calif.) and divers Mary Beth Dunnichay (Anderson, Ind.) and Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) are also 14. The U.S. roster includes 117 athletes under the age of 20.

A total of 49 states are represented as the home state of the athletes of the 2007 U.S. Pan American Games Team. California comes in with the most athletes at 153, while South Dakota is the only state that has no hometown athletes competing.

Attached is the roster of the U.S. athletes entered for competition at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in two versions: listed by sport and by hometown state. The men’s basketball team will be announced by July 19 and currently stands as TBD. All athletes are subject to change.

For more information, please contact the USOC Media and Public Relations Division (719/866-4529).