USA Gymnastics withdraws from hosting 2021 Pan American Championships
USA gymnastics has withdrawn from hosting the 2021 Pan American Championships.
The President of the Pan American Gymnastics Union (PAGU), Naomi Valenzo, confirmed to Gymnastics Now Monday morning that the artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline Senior Pan American Championships (commonly referred to as Pan Ams) will no longer take place in the United States.
Instead, Brazil has agreed to host the events in June, with Valenzo saying the exact dates and location of the event will hopefully be confirmed soon.
“USA Gymnastics can confirm that the 2021 Senior Pan American Games will not be held in the U.S.,” the national governing body told Gymnastics Now Monday afternoon.
“While we were honored by the opportunity to host this multi-discipline, international Olympic qualifying event, after assessing all COVID-related risks and requirements, we determined that it would not be in the best interests of all participating athletes for the event to be held here.”
Once event details are finalized, USA Gymnastics said “we will work with our medical staff and public health experts to make an informed decision about U.S. participation closer to the event.”
The Pan American Championships are the FIG’s official continental championships for the Americas (comprising North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean).
The 2021 event is the “final” qualifying event for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, with two quota places available for both the men and women (four total).
Those berths will go to the highest ranked all-around athletes with a maximum of one (1) per country, based on the results of the all-around final. The berths are for the individual athletes, except when a country has already qualified a team via the 2018 or 2019 World Championships.
For example, if John Orozco (PRI) attended and was one of the top 2 finishers in the all-around final, he would earn an individual berth for himself, as Puerto Rico did not qualify a team via the World Championships. If Konnor McClain (USA) attends and finishes in the top 2, she would earn an additional berth for the United States, not herself, as the U.S. qualified a team via the World Championships.
Note: A country that has already qualified a team and two additional individuals via the Individual Apparatus and Individual All-Around World Cups may not qualify an additional quota spot as it has hit the cap of six (6) individual athletes per country for this Games.
USA Gymnastics was originally set to host Pan Ams last May in Utah before the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. The organization has been taking bids in search for a new host for the rescheduled event since at least July. It was projected to take place May 6-9, 2021.
USA Gymnastics had not responded to Gymnastics Now’s request for comment at time of publishing.
