1979 Pan American Games
The 8th Pan American Games were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15, 1979. The capital of Puerto Rico played host to 3,700 athletes from 34 countries competing in 22 sports, making the VIII Pan American Games the largest to date. Security was a concern due to turmoil over the issue of Puerto Rico's political status. The CBS television network broadcast twelve hours of coverage in the United States. The 1980 documentary film A Step Away showcased a number of athletes competing in the Games.
Medal table
Host country in bold.
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
126 | 95 | 45 | 266 |
| 2 |  Cuba (CUB) |
64 | 47 | 34 | 145 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) |
24 | 43 | 71 | 138 |
| 4 |  Argentina (ARG) |
12 | 7 | 17 | 36 |
| 5 |  Brazil (BRA) |
9 | 13 | 17 | 39 |
| 6 |  Mexico (MEX) |
3 | 6 | 29 | 38 |
| 7 |  Puerto Rico (PUR) |
2 | 9 | 10 | 21 |
| 8 |  Chile (CHI) |
1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 9 |  Venezuela (VEN) |
1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 10 |  Dominican Republic (DOM) |
0 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| 11 |  Jamaica (JAM) |
0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 |  Panama (PAN) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 13 |  Guyana (GUY) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 |  Colombia (COL) |
0 | 1 | 8 | 9 |
| 15 |  Peru (PER) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 |  Bahamas (BAH) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 |  Ecuador (ECU) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 18 |  Netherlands Antilles (AHO) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 British Honduras |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 El Salvador (ESA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Virgin Islands (ISV) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Sports
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References