2007 Pan American Games

The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to July 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in 47 disciplines. During the Games, 95 new Pan American records were set; 2,196 medals were awarded; 1,262 doping control tests were performed and about 15,000 volunteers participated in the organization of the event, which was an Olympic qualification for 13 International Federations (IFs).

Rio de Janeiro was awarded the Games over San Antonio, Texas, United States, on August 24, 2002, having won an absolute majority of votes (30-21) from the 51 members of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) in the first round of voting during the XL PASO General Assembly held in Mexico City, Mexico. This was the first Games held in Brazil since the 1963 Pan American Games that took place in São Paulo. According to the Rio de Janeiro Organizing Committee, the Games called for the implementation of the country's largest organizational and logistic operation ever.

The 2007 Pan American Games ran smoothly and served to strengthen Brazil's ability to hold major sporting events, becoming an important experience during the country's successful campaigns to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in the following years. According to PASO, the excellent work developed by the Rio de Janeiro Organizing Committee, the full support provided by the three levels of Government—Federal, State and Municipal—in Brazil.