July 24 marked exactly two years until the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Two years still seem too far away? You’re in luck! Just one year away are the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, taking place July 26-Aug. 11.

First held in 1937, and every four years since 1951, the Pan American Games are a summer sports competition for countries in North, South and Central America. In 2015 in Toronto, more than 6,000 athletes from 41 countries competed in 36 sports. More like 6,700 athletes are expected to compete in Peru.

The Games are organized by PanamSports (formerly the Pan American Sports Organization or PASO), which is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee and operates in accordance to the Olympic Charter. But the Pan American Games are more than just a smaller Olympic Games. They’re a place to see future Olympic stars, future Olympic sports, new and different sports never before seen at the Olympics, and more. Consider:



Olympic Spots Are On The Line

Many athletes choose to participate in the Pan American Games. But for some, it might be their only or best way to qualify for the Olympic Games. Olympic qualifying spots are up for grabs in 22 sports in Lima, a record for a Pan American Games.

Those sports are: archery, badminton, equestrian, field hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, tennis, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, surfing, swimming, table tennis, team handball, track and field, triathlon, water polo and weightlifting.

While some sports qualify Olympic quotas for a given country, others allow athletes to qualify by name. In 2015, pentathlete Nathan Schrimsher became the first official member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team by earning his qualifying spot in Toronto. Table tennis player Yue Wu joined him there as the second athlete to make the Olympic team.



Olympians And Future Olympians Will Be There

In Toronto, Team USA took home 265 medals, topping the medal table for the 16th straight time at the Pan American Games. Rhythmic gymnast Laura Zeng was the top performer overall, winning five gold medals in sweeping the individual rhythmic gymnastics titles. She went on to make her Olympic debut in Rio one year later.

Swimmer Allison Schmitt had three Olympic gold medals going into Toronto, and won three Pan American Games gold medals there, then won another Olympic gold in Rio. Shooter Kim Rhode defended her title in women’s skeet shooting, adding more hardware to her resume that includes six Olympic medals.

Claressa Shields also made history as the first American woman to win a medal in boxing. That was sandwiched between her two Olympic gold medals won in London and in Rio.

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New And Different Sports On Display

The Pan American and Olympic programs have a lot in common, but they also have some unique and interesting differences. Basque pelota, body building, bowling, racquetball, roller sports, squash and water ski are sports you’ll see in Lima but not in Tokyo.

Other sports will be a bit of an Olympic preview. Before they make their Olympic debuts in Tokyo, karate, surfing and skateboarding will all be contested in Lima. Surfing will be making its Pan American Games debut as well. Baseball and softball, which will be making their return to the Olympic program, will also be played in Lima. Sport climbing is the only new Olympic sport not added, due to the lack of sufficient national federations across the Americas.

The Pan American Games also followed suit with the Olympic program when including new events within existing sports such as 3x3 basketball, BMX park and mixed team events in sports like triathlon and archery. The Pan American program also adopted the IOC’s efforts to balance gender equality by adding more women’s events, such as in boxing, in which two women’s weight classes have been added.

The only event to be dropped from the Pan American Games is women’s baseball, which made its debut in 2015.