Team USA Announces 2023 U.S. Parapan American Team Roster for Santiago 2023
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced the 2023 U.S. Parapan American Team of 240 athletes that will compete at the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023 held Nov. 17 – 26, 2023 in Santiago, Chile.
The roster is comprised of 92 women and 148 men including 91 Paralympians and 45 Paralympic medalists. During the 10-day competition, the United States will be represented in 16 of 17 sports, excluding blind soccer.
“Following the great success of our Pan American Team, we’re thrilled to soon witness the incredibly talented roster of U.S. Para athletes heading to Santiago,” said Julie Dussliere, U.S. chef de mission for the Parapan American Games. “Not only do these Games serve as a vital pathway to Paris for many, they celebrate Team USA athletes as they represent the United States in competition and mark a great occasion in Para sport for the Americas and the Americas Paralympic Committee.”
The event marks the first time that the South American country will act as host to the Games and the seventh edition of the Parapan American Games. Held every four years and one year ahead of the Paralympic Games, the Parapan American Games are the largest multi-sport event in the Americas. In addition, the 2023 edition is first time in which the Parapans’ host city was selected under the terms of the APC-PASO agreement where both organizations worked in conjunction on the bid process for the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.
The 2023 roster includes 21 Paralympic champions. Six members from the 2020 gold-medal winning men’s wheelchair basketball team will compete in Santiago: Brian Bell, John Boie, Trevon Jenifer, Jorge Sanchez, Steve Serio and Jacob Williams. Five reigning 2020 Paralympic Games individual gold medalists will compete in Santiago including Ian Seidenfield (table tennis) and swimmers Evan Austin, McKenzie Coan, Mikaela Jenkins and Mallory Weggemann.
Paralympic champions prior to 2020 include: Joe Berenyi (Para-cycling), David Brown (Para track and field), Lisa Czechowski (goalball), Rose Hollerman (wheelchair basketball), Tahl Leibovitz (table tennis), Asya Miller (goalball), Rebecca Murray (wheelchair basketball), Natalie Schneider (wheelchair basketball) and Jamie Whitmore (Para-cycling). Additionally, three-time wheelchair tennis Paralympic champion Nick Taylor will make his Parapan American Games debut in the sport of boccia.
Featured on the U.S. squad are 101 returning Parapan American athletes from the Parapan American Games Lima 2019 including 82 medalists and 26 gold medalists who will compete in Santiago.
Team USA athletes will be seeking Paralympic Games Paris 2024 direct qualification in two sports – table tennis and wheelchair tennis – while six additional sports can earn quotas spots for Paris including archery, boccia, men’s and women’s goalball, shooting, men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
Additionally, athletes competing in badminton, boccia, judo, powerlifting, table tennis, taekwondo and wheelchair tennis can receive ranking points which count towards overall calculations for Paris.
Furthermore, swimmers can earn minimum qualifying standards for the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
See the full roster here.