Bodybuilding Will Be Included in the 2019 Pan American Games.
Quietly, last November, bodybuilding took a giant leap forward. It didn’t occur on a stage or in a gym or at a photo shoot. Instead, it was in a conference room in Qatar where IFBB president Rafael Santonja and Olympic executives made it official: Bodybuilding will be a medal sport in the 2019 Pan American Games. This was a milestone moment in bodybuilding’s continuing ascension to the mainstream.
WHAT ARE THE PAN AMERICAN GAMES?
Every four years, the summer before the Summer Olympic Games, the Pan Am Games are contested by athletes from the North and South American continents, including Central America and the Caribbean. Launched in 1951, the extravaganza has been hosted by 15 cities in 10 countries. Over 6,000 athletes from 41 nations competed in 51 disciplines and 364 medal events in 2015’s Pan Am Games XVII. The United States, Canada, and Brazil were the leading medal winners. Every sport in the Summer Olympics was contested and many events served as qualifiers for the 2016 Olympics. A few non-Olympic sports were also contested, including karate and bowling. Subsequently, karate was voted into the 2020 Olympics, while bowling was rejected
HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THIS FOR BODYBUILDING?
Very! Bodybuilding in 2019 will be where karate and bowling were in 2015, in a major showcase along with popular sports like basketball and soccer, getting significant TV broadcast and print media coverage, and all the while striving to prove our merit to the Olympic committee.
WHAT STEPS BROUGHT BODYBUILDING HERE?
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Flex.
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This story is from the April 2017 edition of Flex.
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